Mobile Home Fire Started on Stovetop

A fire that destroyed a mobile home Monday afternoon was started by a stovetop burner that was accidentally left turned on, according to a fire investigator. 

The fire was reported at 4:25 p.m. by neighbors who spotted smoke coming from a double-wide mobile home at Carriage Club Estates in the 13300 block of Highway 99 north of Lynnwood. The resident, an elderly woman, was away at the time of the fire.

It took firefighters about 20 minutes to get the fire under control. The mobile home is a total loss.

The Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office investigated the fire and discovered a burner on the stovetop had accidentally been left turned on.

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Two of every five home fires begin in the kitchen—more than any other place in the home. Cooking fires are also the leading cause of home fire-related injuries. 

It is Fire Prevention Month and this year’s theme focuses on preventing kitchen fires. Fire District 1 offers these safety tips to prevent kitchen fires:

·         Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, broiling, or boiling food.

·         If you must leave the room, even for a short period of time, turn off the stove.

·         When you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, stay in the home, and use a timer to remind you.

·         If you have young children, use the stove’s back burners whenever possible. Keep children and pets at least three away from the stove.

·         When you cook, wear clothing with tight-fitting sleeves.

·         Keep potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper and plastic bags, towels, and anything else that can burn, away from your stovetop.

·         Clean up food and grease from burners and stovetops.