Unattended pot of cooking oil catches fire, causes $15K in damage, officials say

Site staff by Site Contributor

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Four people were displaced Sunday night after a fire broke out in their east side home in an unattended pot of cooking oil, officials said.

Crews were called to a home in the 100 block of Georgiana Circle around 6:20 p.m. for reports of a house fire, according to a release.

Three teenagers were home alone preparing dinner when one of the boys stepped away from some pizza puffs he was frying in a pot of oil, officials said. When the smoke alarm went off, the boys found fire on the stove.

The teenagers tried to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher, but could not get the extinguisher to work so they called 911 and evacuated the house, according to the release.

Crews put out the fire with a water can extinguisher and a few shovels of snow, officials said.

Fire and heat damage was contained to the kitchen area, but smoke damage spread into other areas of the residence, according to the release. Damage is estimated at $15,000.

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