A fire caused $50,000 damage to a house in the 900-block of Bray Avenue Saturday night.
Langford assistant fire chief Chris Aubrey said the man who lived in the house put a pot of oil on the stove, then forgot about it and went out to meet friends for a couple of hours.
“He arrived home and noticed there was a considerable amount of smoke inside the house,” said Aubrey. “He used a fire extinguisher and went into the kitchen to knock the fire down. Then he wisely left the residence and called 911 to report the fire because he was concerned it might have gone up into the attic.”
Langford firefighters received the 911 call at 10:12 p.m. The fire was almost extinguished by the time fire trucks arrived.
Aubrey estimated the fire caused $50,000 damage inside the house, mostly from smoke and heat.
“The fire did not go into the attic, so structurally the house is still sound. But all the contents will have to be cleaned or replaced,” he said.
Last week, Langford fire crews responded to a similar fire, said Aubrey. A man left his house while he was in the middle of repairing a faulty coffee pot. That fire caused $150,000 damage to a house on Knotty Pine Road.
“It’s a great reminder not to leave cooking unattended,” said Aubrey. “If you’re going to put something on the stove, make sure that you stay with it or set a timer. You don’t want your smoke alarm to be your reminder you’ve got something on the stove.”
