Chip-pan horror

Peter Quincey, 45, who lives at Wick Parade with his wife Shirley, 42, was trying to get the pan out of their flat after it burst into flames in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The couple had been on a night out with friends and after arriving home, Shirley put the pan on to cook some fish fingers, but they both fell asleep.

Peter woke to the smell of burning and ran barefooted into the kitchen where the cupboards above the cooker were ablaze. He picked up the pan and tried to take it outside but the door of their flat locks automatically when it is shut and he couldn't get out.

Shirley struggled to find her keys and Peter couldn't hold on to the burning pan any longer, spilling burning oil over himself and the floor, melting the plastic front door and starting a second fire in the hallway as the blaze in the kitchen spread to the ceiling.

Peter's footprints are scorched into the carpet at the flat, showing just how hot the oil was as it splashed over his feet and hands.

As soon as Shirley had opened the front door, Peter shouted at her to get outside and call the fire brigade, but she then ran back in to get her handbag which was on the table.

An ambulance took Peter and Shirley to Worthing Hospital and he was later transferred to a burns unit at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, where his condition is described as serious but not life-threatening.

Speaking on Tuesday, Shirley, who described her husband as a hero, said: "It was lucky that he woke up, otherwise we could both have died.

"The skin on the whole of his left foot has just gone. He's going to be in hospital for at least three weeks.

"I'm still in shock now. I thought we were going to die.

"I will feel a lot better when I see Peter. I have called him three times a day in hospital to see how he's doing and he sounds positive."

When firefighters from Littlehampton arrived at the flat at just after 4am, and put the fires out they found that the battery of the smoke alarm fitted in the flat was disconnected.

The couple's landlady, Peggy Murray, said that the smoke alarm had been checked and was working when the couple moved in two weeks ago.

Mrs Murray took Shirley, who doesn't drive, to see Peter in hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

Littlehampton fire commander Trevor Worsfold said the danger from the unattended pan might have been discovered before it burst into flames, had the battery in the smoke alarm been connected.

He said: "As the oil in a chip pan gets hotter it gives off smoke before bursting into flames and a working smoke alarm would have given an early warning, allowing the occupier to simply turn off the cooker and allow the oil to cool down.

"In this case it wasn't discovered until too late. Tackling a blazing chip pan can be very scary, especially if you've never been trained, but despite all the warnings people are still being killed or injured by fires involving chip pans."

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has issued the following information on how to tackle a chip pan fire and will be running a safety campaign during National Chip Week from February 13-19.

* If your chip pan catches fire, do not move the pan or remove its lid if in place.

* Turn off the heat if it is safe to do so but never lean over the pan to reach the cooker controls.

* Drop a damp tea cloth or towel over the pan to smother the flames.

* Never throw water onto the fire.

* Leave the pan to cool down for at least 30 minutes. If you cannot control the fire yourself, leave the room, close the door and telephone the fire service by dialling 999.