Crew Answers Call, Forgets Frying Pan; Firehouse Burns
Firefighters rushing to an emergency left a pot of frying oil on the firehouse stove, resulting in a $10,000 blaze that will close the station at least a week.
“We tell people not to do that kind of stuff,” Acting Battalion Chief Martin McMahon said Sunday. “We all come from the human race. We make mistakes.”
The blaze broke out after the six-member squad on Christmas duty received a call to help a rescue team trying to resuscitate a man, McMahon said. The firefighters failed to turn off the burner that was heating oil for frying potatoes.
A store owner next door spotted the smoke, broke a window to get inside and used a fire extinguisher. Another firefighter showed up minutes later but, with no fire trucks in the building, he also was forced to use an extinguisher.
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