CASPER, Wyo — Unattended stovetop cooking is believed to be the cause of a fire in a west Casper neighborhood early Saturday morning, according to a release by Casper Fire-EMS.
In a live briefing Saturday morning, Casper Fire-EMS engineer and public information officer Dane Andersen credited the presence of working smoke alarms with alerting the residents to the fire in the early morning hours and mitigating further damage.
According to the release, crews were dispatched at 4:07 am after receiving calls of smoke and fire in the kitchen area of a residence on the 3500 block of Meadowlark Drive.
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Crews arrived to find that all residents had self-evacuated. Heavy smoke was present in the home, but crews were able to keep the fire contained the kitchen area, extinguish it, and ventilate smoke.
Two residents were transported for evaluation to the Wyoming Medical Center for possible smoke inhalation, primarily as a precaution, Andersen said.
Due to smoke and fire damage, and disconnection of electrical service, the residents of the home were displaced, and have received financial assistance from the Natrona County Burn Fund.
A Natrona County Fire District investigator determined the cause of the fire was unattended stovetop cooking, which Casper Fire-EMS has said is the leading cause of home fires.
“Stay in the kitchen when frying, boiling, grilling, or broiling. Turn off your heat source if you leave the kitchen for any reason,” the release said. “If you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly and stay in your home.”
Four C Platoon Casper Fire units and the on-duty battalion chief responded to the incident and were assisted by the Casper Police Department, WMC, and technicians from Black Hills Energy and Rocky Mountain Power. Dispatchers from the Public Safety Communications Center provided support throughout the incident.
