An elderly man and his daughter were treated for the effects of smoke after a chip pan blaze wrecked their kitchen.
The man, aged 88, had put a pan of oil on the stove – and went to write some Christmas cards, said a fire brigade spokesman.
The pan burst into flames setting off a smoke detector, buried under bags on a bedroom floor.
Firefighters from Huddersfield were sent to the end terraced house in Westbourne Road, Marsh, at 4.30pm.
The man and his 54-year-old daughter were outside when fire crews arrived. A doctor checked them over at the scene.
Darren Bagley, watch commander at Huddersfield Fire Station, said even though the smoke detector wasn’t where it should have been it did its job.
Fire crews fitted free smoke detectors before they left.
The damage was limited to the kitchen and firefighters used a high-powered fan to clear the smoke.
