Fire investigators said that a blaze in east Vancouver that resulted in a woman suffering burns was caused by unattended cooking.
It started when a resident was heating oil to make French fries Monday afternoon and went upstairs to talk to other people, Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said.
In that time, the oil reached a high temperature and ignited the cabinets, she said. The residents tried to put out the blaze with baking soda and thought they had extinguished the fire.
A woman, the mother of the person cooking, picked up the pan of hot oil and some splashed onto her arm and hand, Scarpelli said.
The woman was driven by a friend to Southeast 136th Avenue and Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard where they called 911. Crews with Vancouver Fire Department responded and the burn victim was taken to an area hospital. Her condition was not available.
Firefighters then went to her residence, a triplex at 903 S.E. 152nd Ave., to make sure the fire was out, but saw flames coming from the attic. The crew called for more firefighter response at about 2:40 p.m. Twenty firefighters worked for about 30 minutes to quell the flames and spent another two or so hours mopping up.
“They thought the fire was out, however it had spread up in to the attic and the fire was starting to consume the attic at that point,” Scarpelli said.
Unattended cooking is the No. 1 cause of fire in Vancouver, Scarpelli said, and it’s a cause that is completely preventable.
“Cooking is an active process; you need to be present and in the room,” she said. “Just a few minutes can change your life.”
The fire damaged two of the building’s three units, displacing eight adults, six children and two pets. It caused an estimated $50,000 in damage to the structure and contents.
