Kitchen grease fire extinguished by quick-thinking resident, Cedar City fire officials say

Cedar City Fire Department crews at the scene of a residence where a kitchen grease fire was reportedly put out by the homeowner, Cedar City, Utah, May 19, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — A grease fire in the kitchen of a Cedar City residence on Thursday evening was suppressed by a quick-thinking homeowner using a small portable fire extinguisher.

Cedar City Fire Department crews at the scene of a residence where a kitchen grease fire was reportedly put out by the homeowner, Cedar City, Utah, May 19, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

At approximately 6:30 p.m., emergency dispatchers notified firefighters of a report of a structure fire at a two-story home near 300 South and 600 West. Shortly thereafter, firefighters arrived to find that the flames were already out.

“They were able to use a fire extinguisher to put out the fire,” Cedar City Fire Chief Mike Phillips said at the scene. “We went in there and overall, there were still some hotspots that we had to put out.”

Right now, we’re just blowing the smoke out of the structure,” Phillips added, as a large fan plugged in near the open front door continued to blow air through the home.

Phillips said having a fire extinguisher handy in the kitchen is a smart thing to do.

“And to know how to use it,” he added.

A total of eight Cedar City Fire Department personnel from two fire engine crews responded to the incident, Phillips said.

Phillips mentioned another factor that hastened their response time was that the fire crews were already fully dressed out and geared up for a live training exercise that was taking place at the department’s training center at Station No. 3, located at 3013 W. 1600 North.

Once the scene of the residential fire had been cleared, the crews went back to the station and resumed their training drill.

Officers with Cedar City Police Department and Southern Utah University Police also responded to the incident.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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