This week, a family's home in the UK was set alight in the kitchen and quickly filled with smoke, threatening to burst into flames. However, the biggest surprise in this incident was the culprit: the family dog.
England's Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said the family's kitchen was “filled with smoke” when rescuers arrived at the scene. Firefighters had to use hose reel jets to differentiate the fire, but were able to do so quickly before ventilating the premises. All the damage was contained to the kitchen.
“This morning we were called to a kitchen fire after something was left on the stove,” duty manager Rob Fossett said in a press release Wednesday. “My dog accidentally turned it on.”
Police issued a warning at the source of the fire, with Fossett urging people to “completely clear stoves and ovens.”
“If you have an electric stove, it's best to turn it off when you're not using it,” Fossett says. “That way your pet won't accidentally turn it on.”
In addition to turning off switches, children should not leave matches unattended in the kitchen, keep matches out of reach, turn off the heat on home appliances when they are not in the room, keep clothing and fabrics away from open flames, and avoid cooking. Parents were urged not to do this inside or while cooking. Check to see if the handles of pots and pans are sticking out into aisles.
There have been many incidents of pets accidentally starting fires outside of this British town.
In 2022, security footage from a home in Parkville, Missouri shows a dog jumping on top of a stove and accidentally turning it on. Shortly after, the stove caught fire and smoke spread throughout the house. Two dogs were rescued from the home and the fire was extinguished before anyone was injured.
A similar incident happened 2018A German shepherd standing on its hind legs accidentally turned on the stove in a New Jersey home, pushing a nearby flammable object onto the stove. Air circulation from an operating ceiling fan lifted some of the burning items and caused them to fall onto a foam dog bed and catch fire. The dogs escaped and the fire was extinguished.
