Where there was smoke, there was fire.
A Shawano teen had a night Friday that he will remember forever.
“I smelled smoke and it was just my reaction that I sprinted downstairs. I seen orange on the wall and there was a blaze of fire.”
15-year old Griffin Guetschow said he had to react quickly after a small fire started in his kitchen.
“I got my grandma and went back to the fire and got the hose and sprayed the fire down” Guetschow said.
Guetschow said his reaction was just an instinct, and while he was not exactly what would be the best solution, what he did possibly saved the home from any further damage.
“I was not thinking that it would put it all out, but thankfully it did” he said. “After that I called 911 because of how thick the smoke was and everything.”
Guetschow also took time to get his dog out of the house, and turn the breaker off of the stove before heading back outside. In this case, the family said it was a box that was on the stove that ended up catching fire after the stove was turned on. Shawano Assistant Fire Chief Chuck Felts said kitchen fires start in many ways, and leaving things unintended or near a hot stove is just one of them.
“The most important thing is making sure the stove is shut off” Felts said. “You have some sort of flammable material and sometimes products can catch on fire because just do the heat. Sometimes it is just a matter of keeping the area clean, so it is just general housekeeping” he added.
Guetschow said that was the case with this fire since nobody was cooking at the time. He also said he learned a valuable lesson.
“Don’t put stuff on the stove, you know, especially cardboard boxes. I guess I will not use the stove as a table top anymore” Guetschow said.
In this case, Guetschow did the right thing, but Felts said in the case of a cooking fire, water may not be the best solution.
“If you are using any oils at all and you put water on it, now you are spreading the oils across the cooking surface. I would recommend taking a damp cloth or towel and smothering it, or use a fire extinguisher.”
Felts said there are many things that can cause fires, but it is important to act quickly and have a plan. In this case Griffin Guetschow did just that. Felts said it is also important to have working smoke detectors in all levels of the home to alert you if a fire occurs.