August 8, 2001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (SH2001-51) FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION R. Steve Huffman Public Information Officer (251) 208-5806/Fax: (251) 208-5813 E-Mail: huffman@cityofmobile.org FRYING PAN ON STOVE CAUSES FIRE IN KITCHEN Mobile Fire-Rescue Department units were called to respond to a kitchen fire located at 1961 Antoine Street on Tuesday evening, August 7, 2001. The call was received from a Mobile Police Officer on the scene at approximately 9:01 p.m. Firefighters arrived and quickly extinguished the fire confining it to the area of origin. The occupant, Mrs. Bomeaquan Alston, 43, told Mobile Fire Investigators she had been cooking and forgot she left a frying pan with chicken cooking on the stove. Alston was outside her one story, wood frame residence talking to a Mobile Police Officer who was there for a domestic complaint when the officer saw smoke coming from the structure. The officer radioed Mobile Fire-Rescue Department to report the fire. The fire appears to have originated on the stovetop in the kitchen and spread to the cabinets and vent above. The fire also extended into the wall next to the electric stove. The cause appears to be accidental due to unattended cooking on the stove. The fire caused an estimated $5 thousand in damage and no injuries were reported. Engines 8, 9, 23, truck 17, rescue 23 and District 1 Chief Bill Glisson responded. ###