Two crews from Wisbech tackled a kitchen fire caused by an unattended chip pan in Leverington yesterday,

Firefighters were called to a home in Little Dowgate at 4.35pm.

All occupants were out of the home when the fire service arrived.

Positive pressure ventilation fans were used to clear smoke from the home and the fire was extinguished by 4.55pm.

Severe damage has been caused in the kitchen to the cooker and neighbouring cupboards, along with heavy smoke damage, but the rest of the property has suffered minimal damage.

An ambulance was called to assess a male suffering smoke inhalation.

Watch commander John Chelton said: “This fire started when a chip pan was left unattended as the resident became distracted with another task. The fire quickly spread but the residents did the correct thing to get out, stay out and dial 999.

“Chip pans containing large amounts of very hot oil can be very dangerous and we would urge residents to use alternative methods of cooking if possible. Whenever cooking, please make sure you do not get distracted and most importantly, ensure you have correctly fitted working smoke alarms in your property.”