A fire at an Abbotsford home Tuesday night is being attributed to a wok left on a stove unattended.
Ted Main, fire prevention lieutenant with Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service (AFRS), said the resident of the Godson Court home had been preheating cooking oil on the stove. The oil ignited, setting fire to the hood fan and cupboards directly above the stove, he said.
The resident smothered the fire in the wok, using a pot lid, and then called 911.
“Her actions, combined with a quick response by Abbotsford firefighters kept the fire from becoming a major loss,” Main said.
Fire crews were called at about 5:30 p.m., and arrived to find smoke and a small fire in the cupboards. Main said they quickly put out the flames using portable extinguishers. Fire damage is estimated at $6,000.
Main said unattended cooking is the number one cause of house fires.
As a result of this incident, AFRS has replaced one of the green bulbs on its Christmas wreath with a red one. The wreath, located outside hall 1 on George Ferguson Way, started with 31 green bulbs.
For every day there is a preventable residential fire, a green light is replaced with a red.
