More than 25 firefighters responded to a grease fire that got out of control Saturday night, forcing a local family out of their home.
The call for service came in around 10:30 p.m., and when firefighters arrived at the scene of the inferno at 5225 Sidley St., heavy smoke and flames could be seen shooting from the back of the duplex, assistant fire chief Bryan Kirk told the NOW.
“The person said they were frying chicken nuggets (and) for two minutes they left the room, and when they came back the deep fryer was on fire. They couldn’t do anything to put it out, so they just grabbed everybody and left the house,” Kirk said.
Firefighters were able to make quick work of the fire and used large fans to keep it from spreading into the adjoining unit.
Twenty-eight firefighters responded to the two-alarm blaze, but Kirk said in the end, the show of force wasn’t really needed, it was more of a precautionary measure taken to make sure the flames didn’t cross over to the other side of the duplex.
The majority of the damage was contained to the kitchen, where the blaze had begun, but the residents were not allowed back in to their home because of lingering smoke. It’s unclear yet, if the damage was structural or not, Kirk said.
While all the members of the family as well as the next door neighbour escaped the fire unharmed, Kirk wanted to remind residents to be extra careful when using deep fryers – don’t leave them unattended, he added.
