Kitchen fires in Sydney

Published: 14th July 2010

One of the NSW Fire Brigades winter safety messages was highlighted in two incidents today. In the first case at Claymore, a household had a lucky escape when foodstuffs caught alight on the stove early in the morning. Firefighters responded from Campbelltown and St Andrews but fortunately, the occupants discovered the fire when it was still small and were able to extinguish it by turning off the stove before the kitchen caught alight. The next incident at St Helens Park late in the night did not end so well. Some cooking oil caught alight and caused a fire that destroyed the kitchen and caused severe smoke damage to the rest of the house. Firefighters responded from Rosemeadow and Campbelltown and extinguished the fire before it destroyed the house. Three of the residents were treated on the scene for smoke inhalation by ambulance personnel and one was taken to hospital. It highlights "a lot can happen in three minutes" and always switch off the stove before leaving the kitchen. For further information, see www.3minutes.com.au