Cooking fire breaks out at Portsmouth student accommodation block as several crews deployed

Emergency personnel were deployed to Catherine House in Stanhope Road, Portsmouth, just after 6pm on December 10. A Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue spokeswoman said crews from Southsea, Cosham, Havant, Fareham and Portchester all attended the scene.

She confirmed the blaze was started by cooking food but was thankfully put out before the firefighters attended. No damage to the building or any of the flats was recorded, with no residents being evacuated or injuries sustained, she added.

The stop message was given at 6.12pm. The spokeswoman said the response was appropriate given the scale of the building. The fire service have launched a new campaign to remind members of the public to “turn off the heat before they eat”, with 50 per cent of all house fires across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight over the last few years starting in the kitchen.

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“Lone pensioners were involved in over a third of these cooking-related fires, so the Fire Service is trialling a targeted campaign aimed at over 65s in the Southsea area while also hoping to raise public awareness of kitchen fire safety,” the fire service said.

They advise people to keep tea towels, cloths and electrical leads away from the hob, switch off the oven and hob when you’ve finished cooking - removing pans from the heat - clean surfaces regularly as the build up of oil and grease can increase the risk of fires, and to keep an eye out at all times while cooking.

HIWFRS’ Head of Prevention Karen Farr said: “As a Service we look carefully at the different risks our communities face across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to ensure we play our role in raising awareness of these dangers. Nationally each year we know that cooking causes more accidental fires in the home than anything else and sadly our local incident rates mirror the national statistics. Through the Recipe for Success COOK campaign we hope to highlight the dangers of unsafe cooking habits to hopefully help prevent unnecessary incidents and fires in the home.” Further information can be found on the HIWFRS website.