Arriva has been helping Shropshire firefighters get over important fire safety messages over Christmas and the New Year – on board buses in both the Shrewsbury and Oswestry areas.
The bus company has put up one of the brigade’s warning posters urging people to “stand by their pan” when cooking in the kitchen. More than 60 per cent of house fires start in the kitchen – many when people leave the room with pans on the hob.
Rabinder Dhami, team leader of the community fire safety department at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said most house fires began in the kitchen. Drinking alcohol and cooking was also a “dangerous mixture” which sometimes led to householders falling asleep while leaving chip pans or the oven hob on.
“This is a cause of many household fires in Shropshire,” he warned.
House fires in the county are at their lowest level due to a concerted campaign by the fire service to raise people’s awareness about fire safety and the importance of having working smoke alarms in their homes to ensure they have early warning in the event of a fire.
