FIREFIGHTERS have dealt with more than 100 chip pan fires in Bradford over the last three years - including West Yorkshire's only fatality - and are using the forthcoming National Chip Week to promote greater safety in the kitchen.

The chip promotion starts on Monday and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is using the event to highlight the risk that exists from using old-fashioned 'chip pans' with hot oil for cooking.

Brigade bosses are not discouraging chip lovers from indulging their taste for fried food but instead have issued a checklist of safety tips which will prevent disaster striking if they are followed.

Overall, there were 29 chip pan fires in Bradford last year, continuing a pattern of falling numbers with 35 recorded in 2013 and 41 the year before that.

Those reductions echo a fall across the county, but chip pan fires are still claiming victims with eight people needing hospital treatment as a result of such fires in the city last year with another six hurt but not needing hospital treatment.

One of the most recent fires was at Swain House Crescent in Wrose on Tuesday this week, when a wok being used to cook chips burst into flames.

Occupants escaped unharmed after smothering the flames with a damp cloth but fire service advice is to leave the property immediately and allow firefighters to extinguish the flames.

Numbers of people taken to hospital after chip pan fires was slightly up last year even though numbers of incidents was down and safety experts are now warning householders to take increased care.

Bradford District fire prevention manager, Tom Rhodes, said: "There have been a number of hot oil or chip pan fires across Bradford district in 2014 and these are easily preventable.

“The majority of cooking related fires are caused when the person in the premises is distracted and leaves the cooking unattended.

"This does often lead to devastating circumstances where people's homes are damaged, possessions are destroyed and these incidents can ultimately result in serious injury or even death.

“There are a number of basic fire safety rules listed below which you should follow to keep yourself and your family safe.”

Fire service advice is to take special care using cooking oil as it is easily set alight and to turn off the heat if the oil begins to smoke.

Thermostatically controlled fryers should be used as they cannot get too hot, but no cooking should be left unattended and children should not be allowed to be in the kitchen alone when cooking oil is being used.

Chip pans should not be filled to more than a third of capacity and food to be cooked should be dry, to avoid splashing.