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  3. Southend Cooking Left On Hob
Incident

Safety advice issued after cooking left unattended

We’re reminding people not to leave cooking unattended following an incident in Southend this morning.

Firefighters were called to a property in Whittingham Avenue at just before 4am following reports that a smoke alarm was going off.

It was coming from a flat on the first floor of a 10-storey building.

Crews pitched a ladder to get in through a window that was ajar.

They found the flat to be filled with smoke after cooking had been left on the hob.

The resident was asleep in the bedroom, didn’t hear the alarms and was quite surprised when our firefighters gently woke her up. She was suffering from the effects of the smoke inhalation and was treated by ambulance crews.

Our firefighters ventilated the flat before leaving.

Closed
Fire
Incident number
285648
Attending station
Southend
Leigh
Rochford
Location
Whittingham Avenue, Southend
Date
3.57am - 01 August 2025

Please follow our safety advice for cooking safely:

  • Take care when cooking with oil - it gets very hot and can set alight easily
  • Never leave cooking unattended or leave the house while the open or hob is in use
  • Avoid leaving children in the kitchen alone when cooking on the hob. 
  • Make sure saucepan handles don’t stick out – so they don’t get knocked off the stove
  • Keep tea towels and cloths away from the cooker and hob
  • Double check the cooker is off when you’ve finished cooking

Cooking Safety

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