Two separate house fires caused by unattended stove tops

KELLOGG — They say that a watched pot never boils. Well it would appear that an unwatched pot can do the exact opposite and burst into flames.

In less than a weeks time, fire crews from Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 responded to two separate structure fires that were both caused by an unattended stove top.

The first incident occurred on June 21 when dispatch received a call around 8:08 p.m. of a fully-evolved structure fire on Mill Street. After crews responded though, it was determined that the affected home was actually on Main Street and not totally on fire.

Upon arrival and entry into the home, fire crews found a sizable fire in the kitchen and a significant amount of smoke moving throughout the rest of the structure. Due in part to it being caught early on, firefighters we able to extinguish the fire in a relatively short amount of time before it spread to the rest of the building.

The occupant of the home was not present at the time of ignition and was not injured.

The second fire was reported on Wednesday around 10:43 a.m. and had crews from both the Pinehurst and Kellogg stations of Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 responding to a residence on Pine Avenue in Pinehurst. Similar to the incident six days prior, crews arrived on scene and found a sizable fire burning in the kitchen of the home with plumes of smoke rolling out.

Once again, thanks in part to a quick response, the fire was put out before it could jump to the rest of the home or neighboring structures. Neither of the two occupants of the home were present when the fire broke out.

Although these two potentially catastrophic events ended with no injuries, the damage to the homes and the inconvenience it brings to the occupants is significant. All of which began with turning on a simple stove burner.

“Both recent structure fires that Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 responded to were the result of cooking material left unattended on a stove top,” Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 Chief Mark Aamodt said. “Both structures suffered heavy fire damage in the kitchen areas and extensive smoke throughout the structure. The families that live in each of the homes will be displaced for weeks at a minimum and possibly months while the cleaning and rehab occur at the residences.”

Incidents like these, though fairly easy to prevent, are common across the country and are responsible for a large amount of fire related damage, injuries and deaths.

Chief Aamodt stresses that leaving something cooking on top of the stove unattended is very dangerous and possibly deadly.

“Cooking equipment is the leading cause of home structure fires and civilian fire injuries and the second leading cause of home fire deaths,” he said. “Cooking equipment was involved in 47 percent of all reported home fires, 20 percent of home fire deaths, 45 percent of home fire injuries and 17 percent of direct property damage resulting from home fires. Between 2011-2015, fire departments responded to approximately 170,200 home structure fires that involved cooking equipment per year. These fires averaged 510 civilian deaths, 5,470 civilian injuries and 1.2 billion in direct property damage per year.”

Add to these facts, provided by the National Fire Protection Association, that Shoshone County is also entering wildfire season and an uncontrolled house fire could be just the spark to get one going.

Even though these two most recent local fires were taken care of before anything got seriously out-of-hand and the occupants were unharmed, statistics show that there isn’t always a happy ending.

To prevent incidents such as these from happening, Aamodt advises those who are planning to cook in their homes to use caution, stay alert, stay in the kitchen when cooking and keep anything that can catch fire (i.e. oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels, curtains) away from the stove top.

“If you have a small (grease) cooking fire, smother the flames by sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the burner. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cool. For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the oven door closed. If you are in doubt about fighting a small fire … JUST GET OUT. When you leave, close the door behind you, call 911 from outside the home,” Aamodt added.

For additional information on fire prevention, please contact your local fire district:

- Shoshone County Fire District No. 1: 208-752-1101

- Shoshone County Fire District No. 2: 208-784-1188

- U.S. Forest Service: 208-783-2100

- Idaho Department of Lands — Cataldo: 208-682-4611