An unattended cooking pot left on top of a stove for Thanksgiving dinner caused about $35,000 in damages during a fire early Thursday morning at Westview Apartments in Fulton.
Fulton Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Coffelt said no one was injured in the blaze, which was confined to Apartment 22 on the third floor of the 12-unit apartment building at 1307 Westview Street.
Coffelt said a neighbor heard a smoke detector going off and called 911. Firemen were dispatched to the scene at 8:33 a.m. Coffelt said when firemen arrived, they saw little smoke and no flames. All residents of the apartment building had left by the time firemen arrived.
During an investigation, firemen heard a smoke detector going off inside Apartment 22 on the third floor. Smoke was coming from under the door.
Coffelt said when firemen forced open the door, they encountered heavy smoke that was dense except near the floor.
"The smoke was extremely heavy. Firemen entered the apartment and found flames shooting upward from the top of a stove. The kitchen cabinets were burning. At that point, fire was climbing the wall. Firemen did a good job putting out the fire quickly. No one was home and all of the other residents of the apartment were out of the apartment building when firemen arrived," Coffelt said.
Firemen used a 1.75-inch pre-connected hose to battle the blaze.
Coffelt estimated $30,000 in damages to the apartment building and another $5,000 to contents. He said there also was light smoke in the other apartments in the building, but most of the smoke and all of the flames were confined to the one apartment where the fire started.
The 12-unit apartment building is valued at $1 million.
"Thanksgiving dinner was cooking and left unattended," Coffelt said.
"This fire demonstrates the value of having a working smoke detector. If the neighbor had not heard the smoke detector going off, this fire could have been much more serious," he added.
Three fire engines, one rescue squad and one ladder truck responded to the fire along with 17 Fulton firemen.
As is the case in all residential fires, an ambulance was at the scene of the fire if needed to assist residents or firemen fighting the blaze.
Officers from the Fulton Police Department and the Callaway County Sheriff's Office assisted with traffic control.