Firefighters turn up heat on chip pans

FIREFIGHTERS are urging people to get rid of their old chip pans in a bid to cut down on the number of fires they cause each year.

As part of National Chip Week, Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said residents should get rid of their old chip pans and replace them with a thermostat-controlled deep fat fryer.

While incidents of chip pan fires have fallen from more than 300 a year in 2000 to just over 200 a year currently, the brigade would like to cut the numbers even further.

In one recent incident in Edinburgh, a 32-year-old woman suffered severe burns to her arms and face when she tried to carry a chip pan out the property and was burned by the hot fat.

Community safety manager for the service David Lockhart said: "Chip pans are extremely dangerous, as the person using one has no control at all over the temperature of the oil in the pan."