The number of accidental house fires in Bradford has risen by 20% – despite plummeting in other parts of West Yorkshire.
A fire chief has said there is no clear reason why these types of fire are rising in Bradford while falling in areas like Wakefield, where the number of accidental house fires was down by a quarter so far this year.
Many of the fires started in the kitchen and were down to unattended cooking, and the fire service has urged residents to take care when cooking over the Christmas period.
The Bradford figures were discussed at a meeting of the West Yorkshire Fire Authority on Friday when the Deputy Chief Fire Officer said there had been 179 accidental house fires in Bradford between April and the start of December.
The was a 20% rise compared to the same point last year.
In Leeds, there had been a 5% rise, but Calderdale saw a 1% drop, Kirklees a 6% drop and Wakefield a huge 26% decrease.
Councillor Mike Pollard (Cons, Baildon) said: “I looked at the difference between Bradford and Wakefield and thought ‘what could that be about?’
“I wondered if there had been fewer safe and well visits (where firefighters visit homes to offer advice and fit smoke alarms), and while the number of visits in Bradford was down 3%, Wakefield was down 10%, so it is not that.
“What is it about, does Bradford simply have a lot of this stuff happening?”
Mr Walton said: “There has been a rise in Bradford, but it is still relatively small numbers we are talking about.
He added: “That doesn’t mean we’re complacent.
“I have looked for a correlation to explain the Bradford figures, but there is nothing obvious at the moment. There is data we look at, but we haven’t really seen any trend.”
The meeting was told that cooking was the main cause of accidental house fires.
When the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked about the figures, Bradford District Prevention Manager Jack Bennett said: “The slight rise in accidental dwelling fires within the Bradford district is attributed to fires in the kitchen area, primarily a result of people leaving cooking unattended.
“As we move towards the festive period, we will be spending a lot of time in and around the kitchen. We would like to remind everyone that there are steps you can take to protect yourself, such as testing your smoke alarms weekly and keeping combustibles, like tea towels away from your cooking appliances.
“You should also be mindful of loose clothing whilst near a naked flame, never cook while under the influence of alcohol, and never leave cooking unattended.
“In the event of a fire in the kitchen, you should never tackle it yourself. If it is safe to do so, turn off the heat, exit the property and call 999.”
A number of fatal house fires were also discussed at Friday’s meeting.
In the past few weeks in Bradford alone, there have been three fatal house fires. In total, there have been eight fatal house fires this year.
Mr Walton told the Authority that five of these were considered “preventable.”
Two of these were attributed to smoking, one related to cooking, one was likely caused by a candle and one was caused by an e-bike charging in a house.
The fire caused by an e-bike charger happened in Bradford on 2 December and claimed the life of Mohsin Janjua, 28.
Wakefield Cllr Charlie Keith (Lab) said: “There is a proliferation of e-bikes and e-scooters and other things with lithium-ion batteries.
“Are we looking at this long term? Is it going to be an issue?”
Mr Walton said: “It is one of the most significant challenges facing the sector at the moment. The popularity of e-scooters and bikes is growing massively.”
He said the National Fire Chiefs Council had recently started a campaign in the run-up to Christmas to warn people of the dangers of lithium-ion batteries and urge people to buy responsibly from reputable suppliers.
While it was safer to buy chargers and batteries from official sources, Mr Walton said there was still an inherent risk with such batteries.
