The fire is believed to have been accidental and was caused by a deep fat fryer left unattended
Firefighters tackled a fire at a restaurant with flats above on Wood Street in Walthamstow yesterday afternoon (15th December).
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) was called at 12.15pm and six fire engines and around 40 firefighters from Walthamstow, Woodford, Chingford and surrounding fire stations attended the scene. The fire was under control by 1.26pm.
A 32-metre turntable ladder was used at the scene to help fight the fire from above.
A small part of the ground floor, flat roof, first floor and ducting from ground to first floor was damaged by the fire. Two people left the building before the Brigade arrived. There are no reports of any injuries.
The fire is believed to have been accidental and was caused by a deep fat fryer left unattended. An LFB spokesperson said: “Cooking should never be left unattended on the hob or grill – if you have to leave the kitchen, turn off the heat.
“Cooking with hot oil can be really dangerous and the risk increases when you start frying food more than once. All it can take is for you to become distracted for a few seconds and your cooking oil can quickly go up in flames.
“Never fill a pan more than one third full of fat or oil and make sure food is dry before putting it in hot oil – oil and water are a dangerous mix.
“If the oil starts to smoke, it’s too hot so turn off the heat and leave it to cool. We also advise using an electronic deep fat fryer if possible – they have automatic temperature controls and are much safer. It’s also really important to keep the hob, cooker hood and extractor fan clean too – built up fat and grease can ignite and cause a fire.”
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