FIREFIGHTERS in Wallingford are warning people to take more care following a spate of avoidable blazes.
Six out of the 15 home fires attended by crews from the town station since April are thought to have resulted from careless behaviour.
They include one involving a bread-making machine left on a hob and another where a toaster was not supervised.
The total number of property fires so far this year in Wallingford is 50 per cent up on the same period last year, when 10 were recorded.
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Terry Coupar, on-call station support officer for the county’s fire service, said: “We have seen a spike in the number of kitchen and home fires locally recently, several of which we think could have been avoided if people had followed fire safety advice.
“It is essential that items which could catch fire should never be placed on or near an oven hob and that people should not leave items cooking on a hob unattended.
“Doing so could result in a fire. We have also attended an incident in somebody’s home where clothing was left too close to a heat source, causing a fire.”
An online Home Fire Risk Check can help work out how to make homes safer – see oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/public-site/fire-safety-advice
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