Residents of a Richmond apartment building were briefly evacuated due to a cooking accident on Friday night.
The Richmond News spotted two fire trucks parked outside a residential building near No. 3 and Ackroyd roads at around 9 p.m. on Oct. 20.
No smoke was visible and residents of the building were seen standing outside the building.
Richmond Fire-Rescue Fire Chief Jim Wishlove confirmed crews were dispatched to a report of a fire on a 12th-floor suite around 8:30 p.m.
“Our crews went up to the suite and the suite was locked. So they had to force their way into the suite,” Wishlove told the News.
“And then they found a pot unattended on the stove burning.”
Crews put out the fire and ventilated the suite, and residents were allowed back into the building within an hour.
No injuries were reported and Fire-Rescue did not connect with the resident of the suite.
Cooking safety was the focus of this year’s Fire Prevention Week, which took place last week, said Wishlove.
To raise awareness in a creative way, Richmond Fire-Rescue released three cooking videos on social media to provide the community with kitchen safety tips and mouthwatering recipes.
Such tips include always turning on the ventilation fan to remove heat, smoke and carbon monoxide, and always turning the pot handles in.
“(The incident is) a good example of how (cooking fires are) avoidable and not to leave something unattended in the kitchen,” said Wishlove.
“If you’re cooking or you’ve got something warming up or heating, you’ve got to stay and keep an eye on it.”
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