Fire Department

A UW-Madison student was taken to the hospital and treated for burns after her clothing caught fire while cooking.

Engine Company 4 responded to a UW dormitory to investigate an active fire alarm. UW staff directed firefighters to a small kitchen in the basement, where a student had been boiling water on an electric stove.

The student returned to the kitchen as firefighters assessed the situation and explained that the bottom flap of her flannel shirt must have come in contact with the electric coil of the stove. Although she smelled smoke, she couldn’t determine where it was coming from at first. She walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway before feeling heat and flames against her body. She promptly removed the shirt and poured water on it, extinguishing the fire prior to Engine 4’s arrival. 

Paramedics evaluated the student, who was in stable condition, and determined she did not require emergent transport to the hospital. She was transported to the hospital by UWPD.