Fire Department

The Madison Fire Department responded to two separate oven fires at the Ovation Apartments on W. Johnson Street.
 
In the first case, a resident had a small fire after pre-heating the oven to make cupcakes. She advised Ladder 1 that she just moved in and this was the first time using the appliance. Alarms sounded while she was in another room and she returned to find flames coming from the drawer beneath the oven. She grabbed a fire extinguisher and used it to put out the fire before calling 911. There was no damage to the oven or surrounding areas, but an oven mitt did not survive.
 
Later that day, Engine 1 was called to another oven fire on the same floor. Investigations revealed that the drawer on the bottom of the appliance is actually a broiler, not a storage area for kitchen pans and utensils. In this case, grilling spatulas and tongs with plastic handles were stored in the broiler. When the residents preheated the oven to cook dinner, the handles ignited.
 
In both cases, MFD’s crews ventilated the floor to remove light smoke from the area, and the occupants were advised not to use the drawer as a storage space anymore. Fire Investigation also notified building management for the purposes of educating other tenants in the building who have the same model of oven.