15/03/2010
Scots pensioner's fire warning
Miss Linn said: “It’s something I’ve never done before, but, as normal, I’d put a light to some porridge for my breakfast before I was due to leave for a day out to Callander with friends.
“I normally have a bowl of porridge for breakfast each morning but on this day I had been so pre-occupied getting ready for my day out and when the car arrived to pick me up I left without a second thought to the pan I’d left on the cooker.
“It wasn’t until later that day when we received a telephone call from the fire brigade that I remembered about the porridge I’d left on the heat.”
Luckily fire crews were able to find the cause of the burning, which alerted Miss Linn’s fire alarm system to notify the emergency services, narrowly averting a potential disaster.
Miss Linn added: “I was very lucky the alarm went off and alerted the fire brigade before the fire could cause any damage to my home. It could have caused a terrible accident otherwise.
National fire safety initiatives and campaigns have highlighted the dangers of leaving an open flame unattended in the home, with particular focus on leaving cooking appliances unsupervised.
The fire and rescue authority’s chip pan fire campaign from the 1980s and 90s showed the destruction caused by trying to put out a chip pan fire with water.
Latest official Scottish government figures show there were almost 10,000 primary fires – which include all fires in buildings (excl derelict), or any fire involving casualties, rescues or fires attended by five or more appliances – recorded in Scotland in a single year.
Miss Linn said: “I’ll definitely be keeping a closer eye on my pot of porridge from now on and hope to avoid a repeat of what happened last week. I’m just thankful everything was brought under control in plenty of time.”
A spokesperson for SAS Fire and Security, who installed and monitor the fire alarm system in Miss Linn’s home, said: “We’re extremely pleased our fire system was able to detect and notify the emergency services avoiding any damage to Miss Linn’s home. We send her our best wishes.”
