A resident stepped away from a stovetop just long enough for the oil in a saucepan to catch fire and damage a duplex in the Fruit Valley neighborhood Thursday afternoon.
Around 5:30, firefighters were called to a house fire at 1922 W. 31st St.
Vancouver Fire Department spokesman Joe Spatz said they found smoke coming from one of the units of the duplex, then entered the home to stop the fire.
No one was inside the house, he said. It took less than 10 minutes to bring things under control, Spatz said, and the fire affected only the one unit in the duplex.
Spatz said the Red Cross responded to assist the occupants. Five people were displaced by the fire, Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said.
Investigators found one of the home’s occupants had poured some oil on the stove in preparation to fry some chicken when they saw that their child, in a park across the street, was in distress.
In the time the resident ran out to check on things, the stove and kitchen caught fire, Scarpelli said.
“It just goes to show you how quickly these types of preventable fires can happen, these unintentional fires,” she said.
Cooks should to stay in the kitchen, she said, and be sure to turn off any burners, even if they’re left unattended for a moment.
The fire did about $5,000 damage. The child, Scarpelli said, was OK.
