Waffle the cockapoo rescued after kitchen fire

Essex fire crews rescued Waffle from a kitchen fire in Braintree

A family dog was rescued and given pet oxygen after an accidental kitchen fire.

Crews from Braintree Fire Station and Halstead Fire Station were called to Stanstrete Field, Braintree at 18:36 BST on Thursday by neighbours who heard smoke alarms going off.

The fire started when the hob was accidentally switched on, the fire service said.

Waffle, a cockapoo, was trapped in the house but firefighters managed to save the dog, who was suffering from smoke inhalation and given pet oxygen .

Watch Manager Matthew Nash said: "We’d like to thank the neighbours who heard the smoke alarm sounding and rang us immediately.

"Once we got Waffle outside we could see it was subdued and suffering the effects of smoke inhalation.

"We quickly applied the specialist pet oxygen masks that we carry on our fire engines to give Waffle oxygen. After a few minutes you could tell there was a significant improvement.

"The fire started when the hob was accidentally switched on and caused items on top of it to set alight.

"We can’t say it enough, please do not leave items on top of your hob. We attend so many incidents where people have used the hob as a storage area and items have set alight. It’s just not worth the risk.”