A QUICK-THINKING cook saved a fire from spreading at a canteen in Rochester today.

Royal Mail workers were evacuated from the sorting office on Maidstone Road after the blaze started in the kitchen.

The cook was getting ready for the lunch time rush when the chip pan caught alight. Fire crews from Medway and Strood fire stations were called to the scene at around 11.50am.

The cook sounded the fire alarm before crews arrived. About 40 members of staff were evacuated from the building.

A spokesman from Kent Fire and Rescue said: “It was an industrial chip pan that had caught alight. The cook did all the rights things. She sounded the fire alarm and shut off the gas.

"By the time we arrived there was not a lot for us to do. The fire had been extinguished and everyone was out safely. We just had to inspect the buildings and ensure the area was safe.”