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Chip pan fires responsible for one in four UK non-fatal fire injuries

December 03, 2002

One in two poor families could be at high risk of a house fire because they still deep fry food, especially chips, finds a study in Injury Prevention.

Chip pan fires account for one in four non-fatal fire injuries in the UK - the single largest cause of casualties in house fires.

In 2000 almost 500 people died in a house fire, while over 14,000 people sustained fire injuries. Children from the poorest homes are 16 times as likely to die in a fire as children from the most affluent homes, the statistics show.

The authors surveyed over 1000 households taking part in a smoke alarm trial. The households were in a materially deprived, ethnically mixed area of North London and were asked about their cooking habits.

Just under half those surveyed deep-fried food, of whom over two thirds did so weekly, and 7% on a daily basis. The remainder deep-fried food on a monthly basis, or more frequently.

Most (89%) households that cooked this way, deep fried chips. Taste was the primary reason for half, while convenience was the chief reason for around a third. Two per cent of the families who deep-fried food had had an accident involving fire.

The promotion of cheap oven ready or microwavable chips could not only minimise the fire hazards but also confer health benefits, conclude the authors, because oven ready chips contain about a third less fat than the deep fried variety.

British Medical Journal (BMJ)