Family briefly displaced after kitchen fire in NW Calgary

A family and their dog were temporarily displaced Thursday after a house fire in northwest Calgary.

Firefighters were called to a house near North Haven Drive and 14 Street NW around 4:30 p.m. for reports of a kitchen fire.

Officials say the fire started while someone in the home was cooking with oil. The oil ignited and quickly spread to the cabinets.

The residents tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire before leaving the house and calling 911.

Fire crews arrived to find smoke coming from the home. They were able to put out the fire and rescue the family’s 17-year-old visually impaired dog.

No injuries were reported.

Officials say the house had working smoke alarms. Investigators are working to find out the exact cause of the fire.

Tips to prevent fires while cooking

The Calgary Fire Department is out with the following tips to help prevent kitchen fires:

• Never leave cooking unattended, stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, broiling or boiling food.
• If you must leave the kitchen, turn off the stove and remove the pot from the burner.
• Make sure to use dry oven mitts and potholders to prevent scalding or burns.
• Use the stove’s back burners whenever possible and turn pot handles inward to reduce the risk of pots being knocked over.
• Keep potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, and other items that can burn away from your stovetop.
• Clean food and grease from the oven and stovetop once it has cooled.
• Always keep an oven mitt and lid nearby when cooking. If a small grease fire starts in a pan, smother the flames by carefully sliding the lid over the pan.
• To prevent overheating and ignition of cooking oil, fry foods in a temperature-controlled deep-fat fryer or skillet designed for a maximum temperature of 200 °C.
• Clean food and grease from the oven and stovetop once it has cooled.’
• Do not move the pot or pan or throw water on the flames.
• Using a lid with oven mitt, simply slide a tight fitting lid over the pot or pan to smother the flames.
• Turn off the heat and exhaust fan.