A DARTFORD pensioner suffered smoke inhalation after attempting to tackle a fire herself yesterday (Dec 11).

The woman, thought to be in her early 60s, was alerted to the blaze in her kitchen after her smoke detector sounded.

She discovered tea towels, which had been left on a cooker hob were alight, and attempted to put the fire out herself.

But the small fire had produced smoke which filled the entire flat and spread to the first floor communal corridor of the property.

Two fire engines were sent to the flat just off St John's Road in Stone shortly before 6.30pm and crews used a positive pressure ventilation fan to clear the smoke.

The woman was given oxygen therapy by the ambulance service on the scene.

Crew Manager Gary Miller, said: "The woman immediately turned the cooker off and took the burning tea towels to a nearby sink and doused them with water.

"While the fire was only small, it produced a lot of smoke, filling her flat and spreading to the first floor communal corridor.

"Unfortunately, the woman breathed in quite a bit of smoke and we gave her oxygen therapy before handing her into the care of the ambulance service for precautionary checks."

He added: "There are some important safety messages to come from this incident: make sure your cooker is switched off when not in use. Don’t leave tea towels or any other flammable items close to a heat source. "Never attempt to tackle a fire yourself, you could get seriously hurt.- just three breaths of fire smoke can be fatal and fit working smoke alarms on every floor of your home."

For free essential fire safety advice, call Kent Fire and Rescue Service on 0800 923 7000, email home@kent.fire-uk.org or visit www.saferwinter.info.