Haywards Heath block of flats kitchen fire

The flats had to be evacuated during the incident in the early hours of yesterday.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service was called to the flats in Franklynn Road, Haywards Heath at about 3am.

Most residents had evacuated the building but fire crews  rescued one person and gave them first aid.

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The fire started in a kitchen on the first floor and burnt itself out.  A spokeswoman for the service  said firefighters pulled one person to safety.

She said: “Crews administered minor first aid before handing the casualty over to South East Coast Ambulance Service.

“Fortunately 27 other people had safely evacuated prior to the arrival of the fire service.

“Firefighters continued their inspections and located a kitchen fire in a property on the first floor which had burnt itself out.”

She said crews ventilated the property before leaving the scene at 4.30am.

She added: “More than 50 per cent of accidental fires at home are started by cooking, and most kitchen fires occur when people are distracted or leave things unattended.  “Kitchen fire safety advice can be found on our website.”