City firefighters responded last Thursday to a cooking oil fire that erupted from an unattended frying pan in a townhouse at the Edgewood Estates condo complex in Erin Ridge.
Some 14 firefighters in three fire engines and an aerial unit attended to the fire, which was reported at 4:46 p.m. on June 29.
St. Albert fire prevention officer Mike Bos said that the team arrived shortly after the call and had the fire out within minutes.
“Most of the damage was confined to the area around the stove,” Bos said. “But there was lots of thick, black smoke, and some smoke and water damage in the kitchen and surrounding area.”
One person was home when the fire happened, but no one was injured.
Bos said that the number one cause of kitchen fires in St. Albert is unattended cooking and that cooking in general causes many fires in the city.
“Stay in the kitchen if you’re cooking,” he said.
“We also recommend if you are in the kitchen cooking, keep a lid nearby so if you have a small grease fire that starts in a pan you can smother the flames by sliding the lid over the pan and turning off the burner.”
The key to staying safe in a house fire is to get out if you are unsure of your ability to extinguish the fire, according to Bos.
“The other thing to remember is that working smoke alarms save lives,” he said.
“If your smoke alarm is working, newer than 10 years old and properly maintained, it’s gonna perform for you when you need it.”
