An occupant was injured Friday night attempting to extinguish a kitchen fire before the West Hartford Fire Department arrived. [Updated, 8:45 p.m.]

By Ronni Newton

The West Hartford Fire Department was called to the scene of a kitchen fire in a single family home on Lawler Road Friday night at 9:19 p.m., and when they arrived they found an occupant had partially extinguished the blaze themselves, but sustained serious burns in the process.

According to Deputy Chief Jarrad Smith, the remaining fire was quickly extinguished by fire department personnel, who also completely overhauled the area to ensure that there was no hidden fire remaining.

Deputy Fire Marshal Chris Wilcox told We-Ha.com that the fire resulted from combustible items that had been placed on top of the stove – which was accidentally turned on.

“The occupants were alerted to the fire by their smoke alarm and they attempted to extinguish the fire using a fire blanket and fire extinguisher,” Wilcox said. “They then promptly called 911 and evacuated the house. The occupants’ quick reaction and the presence of working smoke alarms ensured that the fire was extinguished quickly and damage to the house was limited.”

Wilcox said there were two adults and two dogs in the house when the fire started but all had evacuated prior to the arrival of firefighters.

The occupant of the home who had partially extinguished the blaze before emergency responders arrived sustained serious burns to one of their hands. The victim was treated on the scene by fire department paramedics and EMS personnel from American Medical Response before being transported to Hartford Hospital, Smith said.

No other injuries were reported.

“The West Hartford Fire Department would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that nothing should ever be stored on top of stoves, toaster ovens, or any other heat producing appliances,” Wilcox said. “Everyone should check their smoke and CO alarms to ensure they are in good working order. If anyone needs assistance in checking their smoke/CO alarms or needs to have new ones installed they can reach out to Deputy Fire Marshal Chris Wilcox at 860-561-8362 or chris.wilcox@westhartfordct.gov.”

While units were on the scene, West Hartford Police kept the area closed to traffic, but the road is open on Saturday morning, Smith said.

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