A WOMAN was taken to hospital on Christmas Day after a fire started in her kitchen.

Three fire crews were dispatched to Walney after a blaze started on a kitchen hob.

Firefighters have warned people to keep safe with kitchen appliances following the incident.

An elderly woman was taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation following the fire.

Two fire engines from Barrow were called to the scene on Ocean Road just after 7pm, joined by another crew from Walney.

Station manager Roger Exley said the fire was caused by equipment being left out on top of a hob, which was inadvertently switched on.

It then heated up material around it and caught fire.

Mr Exley said: “The hob which fits above the oven was switched off but had a glass plate and electrical equipment on top.

“Someone had accidentally turned the hob on and heated up the glass place to the point when the equipment had got very hot and set some paper nearby alight.

“Luckily she had smoke alarms in place.

"It was a strange one because we believed the fire was out initially when we got there but we then were able to extinguish it.

“The elderly lady was taken to hospital and kept in overnight – luckily she had had the kitchen door shut so not much smoke was able to get through into the living room.”

Mr Exley said it served as a warning to others on how to keep fire safe in their homes.

“We are trying to urge people not to leave stuff on top of cookers like this,” he said.

“If something heats up, eventually that heat turns into a fire and it develops.

“The lesson is: don’t leave stuff on cookers. Cookers are not for storing stuff on.

“It’s a good message for everybody else.”

Mr Exley said that aside from the fire, his Christmas Day shift was a quiet one.

“It was quiet – that’s good in my mind,” he said.

“We always tend to find something happening at this time, people are always cooking and having a few drinks this time of year.”