Incident Type: 
Cooking
Dispatch: 
Tuesday, January 1, 2019 - 12:23am
Arrival: 
Tuesday, January 1, 2019 - 12:26am
Address: 
Catalpa Circle
Madison, WI
Narrative: 

Firefighters were waved into a four-unit apartment building on Catalpa Circle shortly after midnight New Year’s Day. Building occupants directed Medic 6 and Ladder Company 6 toward one unit found to be filled with light smoke. There was also significant damage to the kitchen.

The occupant told firefighters he was heating oil to make French fries. When he tossed the frozen fries into the hot oil, the oil splattered and quickly caught fire on the stove’s electric burner. The resulting flames scorched the stove top, exhaust hood, adjacent kitchen cabinets, and the ceiling. The fire didn’t have sustainable heat and fuel to keep burning, so it extinguished on its own prior to firefighters’ arrival. The occupant tossed the hot pan outside onto the snow.

Occupants were able to return to the apartment after firefighters ventilated the remaining smoke from the unit.

Posted 01/02/2019 - 9:39am
Contacts: 

Cynthia Schuster (Public Information Officer)