SOUTHWICK – Last Saturday, Southwick firefighters and police officers responded to a stove fire in town. The homeowners were out of the house and one of their pet dogs accidentally turned on one of the front burners of the stove when attempting to grab some leftover pancakes that were on the stove. Within minutes, the stove ignited with flames and fortunately the home had a working smoke alarm that alerted first responders right away.
Alarms Work!We would like to thank a local resident for sharing this video. First, we always caution about putting items on the stove. In this case, the family pet decided to help themselves to some leftover pancakes while the owners were away. Unfortunately, the dog hit the ignition button on the gas stove. Within minutes you will see the item on stove begin to ignite. In this case, the homeowner was connected to a monitored alarm system calling responders saving severe damage. If you have pets or young children in the home look into safety covers for your stove controls.
Posted by Southwick Fire Department on Tuesday, January 30, 2018
“We got there quick and it became somewhat of a minor incident,” said Anderson.
The home is equipped with cameras inside the residence that captured the incident and the homeowners sent the video to the Southwick Fire Department in hopes that the situation can help make the rest of the community aware and help prevent fires from happening.
“We’ve suspected this happening from time to time, but this is the first time we’ve had video proof of what’s happened while someone’s not home,” said Anderson. “It’s great that message is getting out there.”
Anderson highly recommended that residents look to purchase safety knobs for the front burners on stoves.
According to Anderson, the video from the homeowners was also posted on Facebook and has reached over 10,000 views.
If you have any questions or comments about stove fires, contact the Southwick Fire Department at 413-569-6363.
