A fire caused by a cooking accident caused about $30,000 damage to a two-story apartment building at 3633 Central Ave.
Columbus firefighters were sent to the apartments at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and found flames and smoke visible in the kitchen window of one of the four apartments, said Capt. Mike Wilson, Columbus Fire Department spokesman.
Firefighters were told that all occupants were out of the apartment. After putting out the flames in the kitchen, firefighters then went into the apartment to extinguish any remaining fire, Wilson said. While searching the apartment, firefighters ventilated smoke from the second floor of the apartment, he said.
The fire was confined to the one apartment and no injuries were reported, he said.
Ruling the fire accidental, firefighters said the fire happened after the apartment resident placed frozen food items in a pan of hot oil, causing the oil to spill out of the pan and ignite combustible material in the kitchen, Wilson said.
The apartment had extensive fire damage to the kitchen and smoke damage was found throughout the apartment, including the second floor, Wilson said.
No damage was reported to the other apartments. The occupants of the damaged apartment have made temporary shelter arrangements, Wilson said
Agencies that assisted during the incident include the Columbus Police Department, Columbus Regional Health EMS, Duke Energy, Columbus City Utilities, Vectren Energy and the Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center.
For more on this story, see Monday’s Republic.
