FIREFIGHTERS in York are waging war on a killer kitchen appliance - and offering safer replacements for free in dozens of households.

Fire crews in the city want to see the back of the chip pan, a highly dangerous kitchen device which was the cause of 70 per cent of all 116 house fires in York last year.

Last month, 24-year-old Kevin Lowery from Selby died after a chip pan caught light in his home in Denison Road. His 27-year-old brother David managed to escape.

Chip pan fires in York are on the increase. This month alone, there have been seven already. Last year, more than 30 people in York were injured in this type of fire.

Now fire crews in the city are carrying out a Ban The Pan campaign in an attempt to rid the city's homes of the inflammatory kitchen device for good.

The initiative has been carried out in other parts of the county, including Selby, Tadcaster, Malton and Whitby, after North Yorkshire Fire Authority won funding from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

The cash means firefighters can replace chip pans in homes classed as "vulnerable", with a safer deep fat fryer for free.

So far, about 60 deep fat fryers have been given away in the York area.

York fire chief Graham Buckle said deep fat fryers were a far safer option than chip pans because of an in-built thermostat that regulated their temperature.

"When you put the chips in, everything is enclosed - it's far safer," he said.

"A chip pan is dangerous because it doesn't have a thermostat and people tend to fill it with more oil than they should."

He said a burning chip pan could set a whole kitchen alight within 20 seconds.

York fire crews were currently targeting York's council homes and travellers' sites to offer home safety assessments, and give out deep fat fryers to those who most needed them.

"We want to make people safer in their own homes and remove this risk," said Mr Buckle.

York householders will be able to see the dangers of chip pans for themselves at a community safety day at Huntington Fire Station next Sunday, when firefighters will be demonstrating how to deal with them.

Other activities, including a bouncy castle, tombola and stalls, will also be on offer.

The day is being held at the station on the A1237 outer ring road near the Earswick roundabout from 1pm to 4pm.

To find out more about home safety assessments, call York's fire safety team on 01904 625272.

:: Chip pan fires

Don't attempt to pick up a burning chip pan

Don't douse it with a bowl of water - it will only cause it to burn more fiercely

Do call 999

If you can, do turn off the power supply

Updated: 09:17 Tuesday, August 23, 2005