A man suffered first and second-degree burns when he used water to fight a grease-fueled stove fire that started in a second-floor unit of a three-story apartment building in Mar Vista, a fire department official said on June 7.
The blaze was reported at 7:13 p.m. on June 7 at 3450 South Sawtelle Boulevard, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Dept. (LAFD).
“When a grease fire erupted on the stove top of a second floor apartment, a man created a grave error according to firefighters, by attempting to move the flaming pan to the sink,” Humphrey said. “With that effort aborted by towering flames, he ran for and obtained one of the building’s fire extinguishers, yet was unable to control the ever-increasing fire.”
“In a relentless quest to control the inferno, the resident went to a nearby hallway and activated a fire hose from a wall mounted cabinet,” Humphrey said. “The man’s well-intended though inappropriate application of water upon the grease-fueled fire caused flames to spread wickedly through the apartment, leading to his burn injury.”
The injured man was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening first and second-degree burns to his hands, arms, neck and head, Humphrey said.
He was listed in fair condition, Humphrey said.
“His pet dog, briefly missing, was found unscathed nearby,” he said. A second person, age and gender not available, was examined at the scene for exposure to thick smoke from the fire and declined treatment or transportation to a hospital, he said.
Thirty-nine firefighters responded and knocked down the flames in 20 minutes, confining the damage to the unit of origin, according to Humphrey.
The burned man and a housemate, who was not in the apartment when it burned, were displaced by the fire and opted to seek their own accommodations, he said.
