Smoke-logged flats prompts late night cooking warning after Woman Rescued from Southsea Flat
A woman had to be led to safety by firefighters in the early hours of this morning after her flat filled with smoke in Clarendon Road. Firefighters from Southsea, Cosham and Portchester were called just after 1am as smoke billowed from the flat. It is believed that the fire started as a result of unattended cooking. Firefighters discovered smoke billowing from a flat and, on further investigation, firefighters found that the fire had been caused by food that had been left unattended. The female occupants, who had been asleep when crews entered the flat, emerged from a bedroom, apparently unaware of the smoke in the flat. It appears that the resident had come back in the early hours of the morning from a night out and put a pie in the oven to cook but had then fallen asleep. A spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue said: “Fortunately, no one was seriously injured as a result of this incident, however this incident could have had a serious outcome, due to all the smoke that was generated, especially if neighbours hadn’t raised the alarm or a fire had developed. As this incident highlights, it is never a safe option to come home and start cooking after a night out. When you return home peckish it might be tempting, but cooking late at night when tired or impaired by alcohol can be a lethal combination. I recommend that residents pre-plan before they go out and have food in the house that doesn’t require cooking. Failing that, consider a takeaway.” Crews used a specialised positive pressure ventilation fan to extract smoke from the properties. They also fitted smoke alarms in the flat and offered fire safety advice. Smoke alarms were also installed in some of the neighbouring flats.
