Sprinker system credited with containing kitchen fire

A fire that started on the stove of a Walnut Grove townhouse on Thursday might have done far more damage than it did, if not for the presence of a working sprinkler system.

Pat Walker, assistant fire chief with the Township of Langley said the blaze started after a pot used to sterilize rubber nipples for baby bottles was accidentally left heating on the stove when the family went out.

"They left the house and thought they had turned (the burner) off, but it boiled dry," said Walker. Eventually the nipples caught fire and ignited plastic components inside the stove's hood.

The flames had also melted a cabinet door and a plastic kettle on the counter before being doused.

"It would have been a totally different scenario without the sprinkler," said Walker.

Firefighters from halls 4, 6, and 8 responded to the blaze at the townhouse in the 8000 block of 209 Street just before 6:30 p.m. Finding no one home, crews broke a window to get inside, where they encountered heavy smoke.

"It smoldered for a long time," said Walker.

Although it is a tough time of year to be out of their home, Walker said the family will likely be able to return in a couple of weeks, once restoration work has been completed.

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Sprinker system credited with containing kitchen fire