A man was taken to hospital suffering from the effects of smoke after a chip pan burst into flames at his Tranmere home.

Fire crews were called to Holt Road and used a hose reel jet to extinguish the blaze.

Birkenhead watch manager Gordon Smith who attended the incident said: “It is thought neighbours heard the smoke alarm activating in the property and went around and woke the occupier who, it is thought, had fallen asleep.

“The occupier did the right thing and evacuated the property and awaited our arrival.

“There was one working smoke alarm on the first-floor of the property, which activated.

“But the smoke alarm which had been on the ground-floor had been removed.”

The victim was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital for checks and treatment.

“We advise cooking is never left unattended, even for a moment,” added Mr Smith.

“Fires involving cooking, including chip pans, can produce large volumes of smoke very quickly which can disorientate people and can cause unconsciousness.

“We also advise people have working smoke alarms on each level of their home.”

Appliances from Birkenhead and Wallasey fire stations attended the incident, which took place at around 1.50pm on Sunday.

  • February marked th start of the national “Fire Kills” campaign which focuses on safer cooking to reduce kitchen fires across the country.