Firefighters handing out free deep fat fryers

9:39am Saturday 28th April 2007

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FIREFIGHTERS are giving away hundreds of free deep fat fryers in a bid to banish the lethal chip pan from Bolton.

There were 49 chip pan fires in Bolton last year and fire safety officers are visiting every affected home to offer the safer alternatives, which feature a thermostat to stop the fat from setting on fire.

Officers carrying out safety checks at specially-targeted at risk' homes will also offer one of their stock of 220 new fryers, where appropriate.

Bolton Central station manager Ian Bailey said: "The consequences can be deadly if chip pans are not monitored correctly.

"There's no facility for the heat to be turned off if somebody gets distracted by the doorbell, if the phone rings or someone falls asleep."

The fire service estimates between five and 15 per cent of houses have an old-style chip pan and figures show two-thirds of fires in Bolton homes are cooking-related.

Last year Sharon Knowles, aged 47, of Cartmel Crescent, Tonge Moor, and 57-year-old Raymond Beddows, of Fordham Grove, Heaton, both died as a result of chip pan fires.

Mr Bailey said: "We now don't advise people to try to tackle these fires."

"If people go about it in the wrong way, such as trying to put out the fire with water, the consequences really are dramatic and can be devastating.

"The best advice is to turn off the heat - if it's safe to do so - make everybody in the property aware there's a fire, alert the fire brigade, then get out and stay out."

Mr Bailey said experience showed elderly people and single men living alone were most at risk, particularly if they have been drinking.

Officers carrying out the £3,000 exchange programme will dispose of old chip pans and fat in an environmentally-friendly way, before showing householders how to use their new fryer and filling it with low-cholesterol oil.

Any businesses who would like to sponsor or provide oil for the scheme are asked to contact Mr Bailey on 01204 905124.

To watch dramatic pictures of chip pan fires, log onto our website: www.theboltonnews.co.uk.