10% of Scottish house fires caused by chip pans
According to new figures, around one in ten house fires in Scotland are caused by hot food pans or chip pans being left unattended.
The Scottish Conservatives released figures which showed that in 2011, a total of 10.4 per cent of house fires were caused by chip pans. This is higher than the previous two years when the figure stood at 9.6 per cent.
In the Lothian and Borders area last year, a massive 22.7 per cent of house fires were caused by chip pans.
The rise in figures has prompted the Scottish Conservatives to call for a new awareness campaign to be launched, to warn the public and food businesses about the dangers of unattended chip pans and to advise people to undergo fire safety training. Scottish Conservatives local government spokesperson Margaret Mitchell said:
“The number of fires in Scotland caused by chip pans has risen this year and that must be a cause for concern.
“There used to be awareness campaigns warning the public about the risks of leaving hot food pans unattended.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish government, meanwhile, said that figures had actually reduced by as much as two-thirds in the last decade. He added:
“However, every house fire is one too many and that is why the Scottish government and fire services continue to work hard educating people about fire prevention measures they can take,”