THREE hungry students put a chip pan on at their home - then popped out to the shops.
A fourth student in the house on Leslie Street in Birkby smelled smoke and discovered the pan had burst into flames at 8.40pm on Tuesday night.
He closed the kitchen door, fled to safety and called firefighters.
A fire service spokes- man said: "The fire wrecked the cooker, then heat and smoke badly damaged the kitchen.
"There was a smoke detector - but it did not have a battery in.
"It was also in the wrong place - on a wall in the living room.
"Smoke detectors should be fixed to ceilings in hallways," he added.
