A young family had a lucky escape when burning fat caused severe smoke damage to their home.

Firefighters from Dartford were called to Bower Road, Hextable, at about 11.20pm yesterday.

They found a pan of hot fat left unattended had set the kitchen units on fire and caused severe smoke damage to the remainder of the house.

Dartford watch manager Lee Abel said: "This was a very close call for this young family. Luckily the smoke detector sounded, raising the alarm, giving the man, his wife and young child the valuable minutes needed to get out of their detached home to safety.

"The man returned to the fire, removed the pan from the heat and threw it out of the window, extinguishing the fire. Fortunately, he wasn't hurt but it could have been a very different story.

"If you have a chip pan fire, never move the pan or throw water over it – it could explode causing serious injury.

"Turn off the heat – if you can do so safely - and get out of your home. Your property and possessions are replaceable, your life isn’t.

Fire crews used a fan to clear the smoke-logged kitchen and fitted extra smoke alarms in the house.

Meanwhile, a woman believed to be in her early 60s and her four-year-old grandson were taken to hospital as a precaution after breathing in smoke when a fire broke out in their Folkestone kitchen last night.

A crew from Folkestone and Dover were called to the Warren Close flat at just after 10pm.

They quickly extinguished the blaze, which is believed to have been caused by a build-up of fat and oil in the cooker.