A kitchen fire at an eight-unit apartment building on Colonial Point Lane in Gloucester, Virginia sent one person to the hospital with burn injuries Sunday afternoon. Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue were dispatched at 1:37 p.m. and arrived to find a large fire at the building.
Crews launched an aggressive interior attack while additional units worked to protect neighboring structures. Given the potential for the fire to spread and an extreme heat index on scene, significant mutual aid was requested. In total, firefighters remained on scene for approximately three hours conducting fire suppression, overhaul, and salvage operations. No firefighters were injured.
One occupant was transported to the hospital for burn injuries. Four other occupants were evaluated on scene for smoke inhalation. Gloucester County Emergency Management and the Community Emergency Response Team are assisting displaced residents.
A kitchen fire that requires three hours on scene and mutual aid from neighboring departments is a reminder of how fast things can escalate in a multifamily building when a stovetop fire isn’t stopped at the source.
If you want to see how FireBot stops a kitchen fire before it becomes a three-hour operation, take a look at firebotssuppression.com.