A pregnant woman jumped from the second storey of a burning flat in Carroll St on Sunday.
East Otago area fire commander Laurence Voight said the fire was one of 22 to start in kitchens in homes in the greater Dunedin area in the past six months.
Firefighters were concerned by the number of kitchen fires, Mr Voight said.
"It is frustrating for our firefighters to be continually attending fires in kitchens that could so easily be avoided."
In another Dunedin fire, a neighbour smelt smoke and forced entry into a house to find nobody inside and food burning on the stove top.
Unattended cooking was the leading cause of house fires and was responsible for a third of all fire-related fatalities in New Zealand, Mr Voight said.‘‘The Fire Service is continually pushing the fire safety message not to leave cooking unattended. It’s a shame that the message just doesn’t seem to be getting through.’’If a fire is burning in the cooking area of a kitchen, the Fire Service recommends. —
● Turning off power to the oven, or stove top, either at the wall or the main switchboard, if it is safe to do so.
● If the fire is in the oven, keep the oven door closed and call the Fire Service.
● For a fire involving cooking oil in a pot, do not move the pot or attempt to extinguish the fire using water.
"By moving the pot you risk spilling the oil. By applying water, the water will turn to steam, forcing the burning oil out of the pot violently. Both will result in rapid fire spread and the potential for serious burns."
To extinguish a cooking oil fire, place a pot lid, oven tray or damp tea towel over the pot and immediately call the Fire Service.
● The best way to prevent a fire in your kitchen is to regularly clean the stove, keep curtains, tea towels and oven mitts away from the cooking area and to never leave cooking unattended.shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz
