A 91-year-old woman was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation this morning (Sunday) after a pan of water on her cooker boiled dry.
Two fire engines from Croydon attended the incident in sheltered accommodation in Fairfield Path, Croydon at around 8.20am.
A firefighter said: "When we arrived the flat was filled with smoke and we called the London Ambulance Service to check over the woman.
"She had been overcome by smoke and the ambulance took her to hospital as a precautionary measure.
He added: "It appears she was using a type of egg timer which you immerse in water and which changes colour to show when the egg is cooked.
"She seems to have forgotten about the pan, which boiled dry and the plastic timer melted creating the smoke.
"We would advise anyone who has this sort of problem when cooking a small amount of food to leave their home and call us."
