'Distractions can be dangerous:' Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service urges people to focus on cooking to prevent fires

"Stay there and cook it" - regardless of misbehaving dogs or children needing homework help - is the message from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS).

LFRS was called out to 119 cooking fires caused by distractions in the home last year, making up some 36 per cent of all cooking-related fires.

Around half of all accidental house fires that fire and rescue services attend each year are cooking related fires, the fire service said.

Lancashire residents are being urged to stay in the room and pay attention while cooking, in a bid to prevent the dangers of accidental fires in the home.

From January to December 2020, LFRS was called to 386 cooking related accidental house fires - however, the service saw a three per cent decrease in these fires from the year before.

Group Manager Kirsty McCreesh, the prevention lead for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Our data shows that cooking fires can happen to anyone, they are the most common type of fires in people’s homes that we attend and we want to see the number significantly reduced and an end to injuries.

"There are plenty of simple things that people can do to drastically reduce the chance that they will have a cooking fire and these include staying with cooking, not getting distracted and keeping the hob and surrounding area clean and clear.

"Make sure that you have working smoke alarms and, should a fire occur, get out, stay out and call us out."