Fire blamed on french fries left on stove

June 19--A fire that started on a stove damaged a Lebanon apartment building Thursday evening and displaced a family.

Julissa Perez, who rents the second-floor apartment at 332 N. Seventh St., said she left french fries in oil on the stove unattended for a minute, and in that time, the fire erupted.

"I saw orange coming out of the kitchen. Not flames, just orange," Perez said. "The entire wall was orange."

City fire crews were dispatched at 6 p.m. Fire Commissioner Duane Trautman said they put out the fire in minutes.

When the fire started, Perez's husband, Juan Carlos Millan, attempted to put out the fire with the hose attached to the sink.

"It got worse," Milan said. "It was too high."

"My first thought was to take out the kids," said Perez. Perez added that her cousin reacted quickly and helped Perez's daughter.

Perez said she experienced a five-alarm fire about four years ago at her mother's home in New York City, something that she believes contributed to her quick reactions and ability to think under pressure.

"I knew exactly what to do," said Perez. "Being in a five-alarm fire is nothing but hectic. It was really bad."

Seven people were evacuated from the second-floor apartment, and they also helped first-floor neighbor Francis Darosh, who is disabled, to leave as well.

Trautman declared the second floor condemned, but the first floor was inhabitable.

After inspecting the building, Trautman said there were numerous code violations in the apartment. The building is owned by Brenda Dice.

"The place is deplorable," Trautman said of the violations. Trautman reported that there was a lack of smoke detectors in sleeping areas and that there were several other fire code violations as well.

Perez said that her smoke detectors were equipped with fresh batteries, but they malfunctioned and didn't warn them of the fire. She said the smoke detectors started to go off only after she and her family were outside the burning building. The second-floor tenants did not have renters insurance.

The American Red Cross was also on the scene to help them.

Thursday's fire was the second on North Seventh Street this week that started on a stove. On Wednesday, a stovetop blaze damaged the apartment building at 342 N. Seventh St.

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