Feb. 10: A kitchen fire at Hall County Fire Station 5 last month caused nearly $1,000 in damage after firefighters responded to a call while preparing breakfast but forgot to put out the fire the stove
Firefighters returned from a call shortly after 11 a.m. on Jan. 29 to find that breakfast was slightly overcooked.
“Staff thought all the cooking oil had been secured by cutting off the stove,” according to an incident report obtained through an open records request. “A large frying pan had caught fire with cooking oil in it.”
It’s not clear what they were cooking.
Firefighters noticed black smoke coming from the roof vent and rushed inside. The kitchen was filled with smoke and the pan was on fire.
“I placed Engine 5 in the parking lot for a possible fire attack,” a firefighter reported.
But the stove’s fire suppression system kicked in and extinguished the fire when they returned.
Damages totaled $995.84, including $217.84 to buy a new toaster and microwave.
No one was disciplined.
Text messages show some county administrators didn’t know about the fire until the news broke. It appears that a press release about the fire was put out before administrators were notified.
“We are continually looking for ways to strengthen our communications both internally and externally in order to provide the highest level of customer service to the citizens of Hall County every day, and we are proud of the men and women of Hall County Fire Rescue Hall. for the service they provide in emergency situations,” Fire Rescue spokeswoman Kimberlie Ledsinger said in a statement Friday afternoon.
