They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place.
Apparently grease fires do.
‘We had two identical fires two days in a row,? said Oxford Fire Chief Jack LeRoy. ‘Both involved grease fires on top of the stove.?
The first occurred Sunday afternoon at the Village Manor Apartments on Pontiac Street.
An occupant in one of the second-floor units ‘inadvertently? turned on a stove burner while a pan of grease was still on top of it.
The ensuing fire spread to the cupboards and up to the ceiling.
‘He wasn’t in the kitchen at the time,? LeRoy said. ‘He didn’t realize there was a fire until he heard the smoke detector going off.?
The quick-thinking resident grabbed a fire extinguisher from the hallway and battled the blaze himself.
‘He, for the most part, had the fire knocked down by the time we got there,? the chief said.
The blaze caused between $5,000 and $10,000 in fire and smoke damage to the apartment building.
Firefighters responded to another grease fire Monday at 561 Pontiac Street, a rental home just south of Village Manor Apartments.
A young woman was cooking French fries in oil when the pan caught on fire. Flames spread to the cupboards above and inside the wall, causing approximately $5,000 in damage.
Unfortunately, she picked up the pan and tried to move it to the sink. As a result, she sustained second-degree burns on her hands and arms. She was transported to POH Medical Center in Pontiac.
In the event of a grease fire, LeRoy reminded people, ‘Don’t put water on it and don’t try to move the grease.?
The chief said always keep a lid equal to the size of the pan handy, so if a fire does break out, you can smother it quickly.
It’s also a good idea to keep a either a dry chemical fire extinguisher or a box of baking soda on top of the stove, LeRoy added.
Either can be poured on a fire to deprive it of oxygen.