HILLFOOTS youngsters heard all about fire safety and the perils of home-cooking during Tillicoultry Community Week.

The town's fire station took part in the event on Tuesday, August 14 and Thursday, August 16 – throwing open its doors to visitors.

Those who went along benefitted from a demonstration of what can happen when a chip pan is ablaze and the heat that comes off it.

With 70 per cent of fires starting in the kitchen, the purpose of it was to demonstrate how dangerous these kinds of incidents can be.

In addition, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) also had a stall offering information on how to keep safe in the house, covering the likes of electrics and smoking.

Phillipa Devonald, community safety advocate, said the local event is part of the outreach work that is carried out in the area.

She explained: "This year in the Clackmannanshire area there has been a peak in accidental dwelling fires and it's gone up quite considerably.

"So we were wanting to do what we can to promote home fire safety in the area."

Around 70 people of all ages turned out to the first open day, with more welcomed towards the end of the week.

They received a tour of the fire station, were able to hop in a fire engine and have a nose around, while youngsters had a blast with the hose.

The Tillicoultry Flood Group was also on hand to provide some local information to those living in the area.

Phillipa added: "I think the chip pan fire was the highlight for a lot of them, you could see their faces and the shock of it.

"A highlight for me I would say, is the young kids getting really involved in CPR as well.

"We had a couple of uniforms off the ex-retained firefighters so a few of the young kids got to dress up in the uniforms as well."

The SFRS carry out free home fire safety visits and can fit free smoke alarms.

For more information, or to book, call 0800 0731 999 or visit firescotland.gov.uk