Firefighters prevented a disaster after a pan in a Colchester kitchen had caught on fire. 

Crews from Colchester attended an address in Stanway, where oil in a pan had overheated and the kitchen was heavily smoke logged on Friday at around 2pm. 

Firefighters fitted new smoke alarms at the scene after one of the smoke alarms on the ground floor failed to activate.   

Watch Manager Dan Davis from Colchester Fire Station said: “Most of the house fires we go to start in the kitchen and that’s why it’s really important to keep a close eye on your cooking. Especially when cooking with oil, it can overheat really quickly and catch fire.  

“We also recommend having at least one working smoke alarm on every level of your home and please make sure to test them all regularly.” 

According to Essex Fire and Rescue Service, more than half of accidental fires in the home are started by cooking. 

To prevent fires, the emergency service recommends taking care if people need to leave the kitchen whilst cooking and takeing pans off the heat, not cooking while tired, taking medication that make drowsy or after drinking alcohol. 

Other measures are keeping towels and cloths away and to double check turning off the cooker when finished.