WIDNES fire chief Ben Bellis has issued a warning following two kitchen fires on the same day.

Three men were taken to Whiston Hospital after a chip pan blaze broke out in Mersey Road, West Bank.

Dean Jackson, 29, and two other men, aged 20 and 33, were kept in overnight, suffering from smoke inhalation.

The alarm was raised at 3.56am on Friday after an unattended chip pan burst into flames.

Firefighters were called to a ground floor flat in Brookdale after an elderly man had let a pan full of cooking fat burn dry. Neither property had a smoke detector.

Station commander Bellis said: "We want to reinforce the message that people must never switch cookers on and leave them unattended.

"We need to impress upon people how dangerous it is, especially with chip pans.

"We would also like to urge people to fit smoke detectors. They not only give you an early warning so you can get out and call the fire brigade, they could also save your life."

Free fire safety advice is available from Widnes fire station in Lacey Street.

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