Unattended cooking causes over 100 fires in South Wales
Since 2021, 32% of all accidental dwelling fires in South Wales have been caused by cooking
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) is launching a new public safety campaign, “Don’t Feed the Fire”, to confront one of the region’s most preventable causes of house fires: cooking left unattended.
In 2025 alone, SWFRS attended:
- 174 cooking‑related fires
- 96 of which were caused specifically by being distracted or falling asleep whilst cooking
Since 2021, 32% of all accidental dwelling fires in South Wales have been caused by cooking.
Despite a gradual decline in numbers, the force warns that the pattern remains clear: 'unattended cooking continues to put lives, homes, and communities at risk'.
Marc Davies, Home Safety Manager for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said:
“We attend far too many fires that start in the kitchen because someone became distracted or fell asleep. These are incidents that devastate families but are completely preventable.
“Through this campaign, we want to draw attention to the frequency of cooking-related fires, and encourage people to make safer choices, protect their homes, and reduce the number of fires we see each year.”
The campaign focuses on the moments where everyday life can distract from home fire safety. Whether it’s a busy parent juggling family demands, someone cooking whilst distracted, a person living with memory loss, or someone cooking under the influence of alcohol, the campaign addresses the situations where distraction is most likely.
SWFRS hopes to encourage people to adopt one simple behaviour change: stay with their cooking. When leaving the room, turn off the heat. If you’re tired or have been drinking, you’re more at risk of forgetting about your food, which could potentially lead to a fire.
The campaign will run throughout the year, with targeted activity during key risk periods including Student Fire Safety Week, Gas Safety Week, the summer BBQ season, and the Christmas period, when cooking‑related incidents typically rise.