Firefighters have issued a cooking safety warning after leading a woman and a child to safety from a flat fire on The Broadway in Greenford.
Firefighters tackled a small fire in the kitchen of a second-floor flat. Crews wearing breathing apparatus used fire escape hoods to lead a woman and a child to safety. A further 10 adults and five children left the building via an internal staircase. There were no reports of any injuries.
Fire escape hoods provide members of the public with up to 15 minutes protection from four of the main fire gases (carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride and acrolein) and can be worn by conscious or unconscious people. If more than 15 minutes protection is required then another hood can be given to each wearer. They do not provide oxygen but temporarily filter toxic smoke to make breathing easier.
The fire is believed to have been accidental and caused by an unattended chip pan.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "Cooking should never be left unattended on the hob or grill - if you have to leave the kitchen, turn off the heat.
“Chip pans and cooking with hot oil can be really dangerous and the risk increases when you start frying food more than once.
“All it can take is for you to become distracted for a few seconds and your cooking oil can quickly go up in flames."
The Brigade was called at 0221 and the fire was under control by 0307. Fire crews from Southall, Ealing and Northolt fire stations attended the scene.