Fire chief guts kitchen

BANNOCKBURN, Scotland, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A Scottish fire chief, who refused to give his employees a raise, was embarrassed when they had to rescue him from a fire in his kitchen.

After the fire was extinguished Wednesday night, Tom Coll, who heads the city's fire board, admitted, "I was stupid," the Glasgow Daily Record reported.

Coll, 71, escaped with minor smoke inhalation.

He said he had been planning a surprise tea for his wife when he decided to make chips. "I put the chip pan on then went to work on my computer. I forgot the pan was on and it caught fire. It wrecked the kitchen but, other than that, it wasn't too bad."

The fire chief said he didn't think the incident would affect his ability to do his job.

"I will mention the incident at the next board meeting and, if the members don't think I'm up to the job, I'll go," Coll said. "It was the first time I've tried to make chips in my life and it will be the last."

Coll angered his employees earlier this year when he refused to back a deal that would have ended a longstanding pay dispute with firefighters, the newspaper said.