Celebrate safely, firefighters warn England fans

South Yorkshire firefighters are bracing themselves for a sharp rise in cooking fires as figures showed a shock increase in blazes during the last big international football tournament.

England play Italy in their latest Euro 2012 showdown on Sunday and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is expecting football fans across Rotherham to grab a beer and cook up some matchday grub while enjoying the match.

Kitchen fires went up by nearly a quarter during the last World Cup, with 39 kitchen fires in just one month while the competition was being played in South Africa two years ago.

So firefighters are urging the public not to mix cooking with alcohol and never to leave cooking unattended.

The county’s firefighters tackled more than 300 cooking related house fires last year alone, resulting in 75 injuries.

And during the Diamond Jubilee weekend firefighters went to seven more kitchen fires, mostly caused by cooking being left on the hob.

Area Manager Steve Makepeace said: “Expectations for the England football team might be low this summer, but sadly we fully expect to see another rise is kitchen fires as millions settle down to watch the tournament and probably have a drink at the same time. Alcohol and cooking just don’t mix.

“It makes you uncoordinated and more likely to have a fire, and less likely to escape if you do have one.

“So if you’ve been to the pub to watch the match, grab a takeaway on the way home instead.

“And if you just can’t tear your eyes from the penalty shoot out, turn the cooker off and take the pan off the hob.”

The service’s Kitchen Nightmares campaign aims to reduce cooking related fires.

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