According to statistics, more than three-fourths of house fires started in the kitchen around Clackmannanshire.

The figures, revealed by the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, show that between April and September last year, there were 39 accidental house fires reported to firefighters in the Wee County and 30 of these involved cooking in the kitchen.

Andy Bennett, station manager at Alloa, is warning residents not to leave their kitchen unattended when cooking.

He said: “Most of these incidents, the householders informed us that they had been distracted whilst they were cooking and had forgotten that the cooker was on.

“Many kitchen fires happen when people are not paying attention or they leave things unattended, but there are several things you can do to prevent fires in the kitchen.

“Don’t leave pans unattended and take them off the heat if you have to leave the room. Fire starts when your attention stops. When you have finished cooking, make sure the cooker or oven is turned off.

"Make sure you have working smoke alarms and consider fitting a heat alarm in your kitchen. Heat alarms are specially designed to quickly detect cooking fires while avoiding false alarms caused by cooking.

“In the event of fire, a smoke or heat alarm will alert you and give you time to react safely and sensibly. It could save your life."

Firefighters are working closely with partner agencies and communities in order to reduce the number of accidental house fires around the Wee County through free Home Fire Safety Visits and the installation of free smoke alarms.

Last year, local staff carried out 533 visits in Clackmannanshire and the firescotland.gov.uk website also offers a wide-range of tips and advice on keeping safe.

The station manager added: “To help us target our visits, partner agencies routinely share information identifying residents that would most benefit from this free service.

“However, we do offer HFSV to all Clacks residents because our clear goal is to reduce the risk of fire and harm to all householders and their property.

“Anyone who is worried about a person they know may be at increased risk should put them in touch with us so that our firefighters can get them the support they need and help them stay safe and confident in their homes.”