Do not fall asleep while cooking, Brits urged
The dangers of cooking when overly tired have been highlighted for individuals across the UK after one man from Birmingham has had to call out the fire brigade on two occasions after he fell asleep while preparing meals.
Brits need to be aware of the dangers that falling asleep when involved in hazardous activities can pose and cooking should certainly be included among these pastimes, the Birmingham Mail reports.
The incident took place on Tuesday evening (June 26th) and saw firefighters called to an address on Glascote Road, Glascote after the unnamed individual caused a blaze when he left a chip pan unattended.
Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured in the fire, with the owner of the property treated in hospital for smoke inhalation.
Tamworth station manager Jim Bywater told the news provider: "The male occupant had fallen asleep whilst cooking, but luckily his smoke alarms woke him up and was able to get out safely.
"We fitted the smoke alarms for him in April when we attended another cooking fire under similar circumstances. We have given advice to the occupant and we would urge other people to take heed - look when you cook."
In addition, Mr Byswater called on UK homeowners to scrap chip pans and instead use a thermostat-controlled deep fat fryer, as this is safer and will not overheat if left unattended.
Falling asleep while cooking is a serious hazard and Brits keen to avoid such an incident should therefore be ensuring they are getting the recommended eight hours of restful sleep each evening, as this will help them to stay awake and alert throughout the day.
Meanwhile, the Sleep Council is calling on people to carry out an MOT on their
mattress if they feel they are not getting a good night's sleep.
This includes asking the questions of whether the mattress is more than seven years old, does it sag or have lumps, do occupants tend to unintentionally roll around in the night and would they be happy for others to see their bare mattress.
Posted by Michael Ewing
