A Victoria apartment suite is heavily water damaged after a sprinkler system doused a stove-top oil fire and then drowned the rest of the room.
Alarm bells sounded at 9:30 Sunday evening at 710 Queens Avenue when an oil fire ignited, according to Victoria Fire Battalion Chief Dave Bicknell.
The lone occupant of the suite had been cooking french fries in oil on the stovetop at the time of the fire. “The fire was likely caused by overheating of the oil,” Bicknell said, in his report.
The sprinkler system extinguished the kitchen fire but continued to flow until fire crews were able to shut it down.
“There was some damage to the suite caused by smoke and heat, however the fire itself had been contained to the pot,” Bicknell said. “The majority of the damage was caused by water from the sprinkler activation.”
The damage to the suite is estimated at $35,000.
The building on the corner of Douglas Street is run by the Victoria Cool Aid Society.
