Las Vegas Fire Department responds to four cooking fires

Cooking fires kept the Las Vegas Fire Department busy on New Year’s Day.

The department responded to four separate cooking-related, noninjury fires Thursday between about 4 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., prompting fire department spokesman Tim Szymanski to remind people that cooking fires are completely preventable.

The first fire department response was at 3:57 a.m. to a second-story apartment at 3955 N. Durango Drive, near West Alexander Road, where there was no smoke or fire but a strange smell coming from a pot on the stove, Szymanski said.

Crews responded to a second fire about 10 a.m. at 1613 Constantine Way, near East Washington Avenue and North Bruce Street. Firefighters found a small pot-on-stove fire, Szymanski said, which often means there are no flames but significant smoke and/or popping grease, as well as the distinct smell of burning food.

Firefighters responded to at 4:15 p.m. to a third call, which reported smoke pouring from an oven at 3336 Mariner Bay St., near South Durango Drive and West Desert Inn Road.

The final fire was just after 5:30 p.m. at Palm Plaza apartment complex on Sunrise Avenue, near North Eastern Avenue and Fremont Street. That fire was also started in a pot on the stove, Szymanski said.

Many cooking fires start when people leave their pots on the stove after they’re finished cooking, Szymanksi said. If there is even a small amount of grease left over in the pan, or if the oven knobs are left on even slightly, the ingredients in the dishes can heat up over time and cause significant smoke and sometimes fire, he said.

None of the day’s cooking fires resulted in injuries or damage to other surfaces, Szymanski said, but he used the department’s Twitter account to warn people of the potential dangers of cooking-related fires.

“Cooking fires are the leading cause of fires and fire-related injuries in Las Vegas,” Szymanski tweeted. He said that the number of cooking-related fires increases sharply during the holiday season, between Nov. 15 and Jan. 15.

Szymanski’s two keys in preventing cooking fires were to remove dishes from the stove and put them in the sink after use, without exception, and to routinely checking stove and oven knobs every time you enter the kitchen and before you go to sleep.

Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber.