Malden Firefighters Respond to Kitchen Fire on Broadway

Malden firefighters responded to a kitchen fire at a Broadway apartment Monday afternoon on Martin Luther King Day, according to Deputy Fire Chief Leonard Dunn III.

The Fire Department was notified of the fire at 500 Broadway, a five-story apartment complex with 290 apartments, at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 20, according to Dunn. Tenants had to evacuate the building for about 30 minutes, he added.

"The fire was contained to the kitchen of the apartment on the fourth floor," Dunn said in an email Tuesday. "There was heat and smoke damage to the kitchen (section) of the apartment and water damage to apartments on the (third), (second) and (first) floor from the sprinkler system that activated in the unoccupied apartment."

A woman who lives at the apartment put a pot on the stove and left it unattended as she left the apartment for unknown reasons, according to Dunn. 

"The pot of cooking oil boiled over, caught fire and when she came back to the apartment she threw water on the fire and it flashed and spread," Dunn said, adding that the sprinklers were activated when the fire flashed. "Can't use water on a cooking oil fire. If flour is all you have, better hope it's a big bag. Best to call 911."

The fire in the kitchen triggered two sprinkler heads to go off in the apartment which knocked down the fire and enabled Malden firefighters to quickly contain the fire, according to Dunn.

"Water from the sprinklers leaked from the fourth floor to the first floor as...firefighters spread salvage covers/tarps over the affected apartments' furniture and personal belongings to protect them from being damaged," he said.  

No one was injured during the fire, according to the deputy fire chief.

The apartment where the fire originated from was left uninhabitable, according to Dunn. He added that occupants in the apartment below may not have been able to return home due to heavy water damage.

Firefighters cleared the scene in about an hour, according to Dunn.

Given what transpired at the apartment, Dunn discussed the importance of making sure residents don't leave a kitchen while something is being cooked.

"The Malden Fire Department wants to remind residents how important it is to never leave the kitchen while you are using the stove top, (and) if you are using the oven and go into another room for a bit, bring an oven mitt or set (an) egg timer to remind yourself that you have the oven in use," he said. "Cooking fires are a leading cause of home fires in the United states (and) most are preventable by never leaving the stove unattended.

"We want to remind our residents to make sure (they) have working smoke (and) carbon monoxide detectors. Fire prevention is everyone’s business."