Seymour stove-top oil fire at home leads to safety warnings

Seymour firefighters are warning about the dangers of cooking oil fires after a fire at a home.

According to the Seymour Fire Department, firefighters were called Friday to a structure fire at a home that burned one person. Smoke was coming from the residence when the firefighters arrived and they quickly went inside. They discovered a fire in the dining room and had it extinguished within five minutes.

Firefighters say that a resident was cooking chicken in an oil filled pot on the stove, when the oil ignited. Another resident attempted to put the fire out by throwing water on it, which instead caused the fire to spread rapidly. The person cooking attempted to remove the flaming pot from the home, but the extreme heat caused them to drop the pot in the dining room, where they suffered burns and the fire quickly expanded.

One person was treated at the scene by Jackson County medics and taken to Schneck Medical Center for further evaluation.

Firefighters are offering several safety tips surrounding cooking with grease or oil including keeping an eye on the stove the whole time you are cooking. If you see wisps of smoke or smell the oil starting to burn, you should immediately turn off the heat. You should keep a lid to your pot on hand, and if a fire starts, quickly slide the lid over the blaze. Never throw water on a grease or oil fire and always be careful when adding food to heated oil, so you don’t spatter the hot liquid, starting a blaze.

If a fire does start, get everyone to safety outside first, then call 911 from outside the home.

Photo courtesy of Seymour Fire Department