A Manchester family is lucky to be alive after hot oil on the stove caught fire and sent their kitchen up in flames.
Fire officials said there were no working smoke detectors in the home and the family was “extremely fortunate to have discovered the fire” before anyone was injured.
The flames broke out around 6:15 p.m. Monday at a single-family ranch on High Street in Manchester.
A middle-aged couple and 23-year-old woman who lived there were not home at the time, but the couple’s 28- and 25-year-old sons, 21-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old girl were inside the house when the fire started.
According to fire officials, the 28-year-old son was heating oil on the stovetop when he went downstairs into the basement and left the pan unattended.
The 25-year-old son was sleeping in a bedroom near the kitchen when he awoke to a “crackling” sound and got up to see flames engulfing the stove, firefighters said.
The residents who were home made it out safely with the family dog.
Firefighters arrived to find smoke rising from the house and fire in the kitchen. They knocked down the flames within about an hour, according to the fire department.
Fire officials said the kitchen was heavily damaged and the rest of the house sustained moderate smoke and heat damage. A building inspector deemed the house uninhabitable and the residents found another place to say.
The fire marshal is investigating. Firefighters urge residents to install smoke detectors in their homes and check the batteries.
