Two people were treated for smoke inhalation following a kitchen fire on Uplands Drive in Nanaimo.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue responded to a call for a cooking fire which was then upgraded to a structure fire shortly after noon on Monday, Feb. 10.
"They were cooking french fries," said Troy Libbus, Nanaimo Fire Rescue assistant chief. "When they took the lid off, the oil spilled over and lit the lid on fire and ignited the kitchen."
Once on scene, Libbus said firefighters saw light smoke coming from the building, and all occupants, a mother and two daughters, had evacuated the home.
"[In the case of a kitchen fire] we will go in there, if the cupboards were on fire we remove the oil, we shut the stove off and we put water on the cupboards and the lid on the pot."
Libbus said there is extensive damage to the kitchen and smoke throughout the house, meaning the homeowner will be temporarily displaced, as well as a family of four that lived in a downstairs apartment.
Although it doesn't seem to be the cause in this instance, the assistant chief warned that leaving cooking oil unattended can cause kitchen accidents in an instant.
"Oil is volatile and you can see what happened today, the damage caused by that."
He added the family did the right thing by calling 911 and getting outside.
