Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The alarm at Jefferson County Fire Rescue (JCFR) sounded at 12:01 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, indicating a family dwelling on fire at 1272 Government Farms Rd. in the Ashville area of Monticello. Nine minutes later, emergency response vehicles arrived at the scene and began to fight the fire.
According to the JCFR report, personnel from the Ashville Volunteer Fire Department advised that heavy smoke was coming from the side of the home where the kitchen is located and that the resident had safely evacuated and did not require aid. The fire was under control by 12:30 p.m. Approximately 300 gallons of water was used to extinguish the fire. Firefighters continued to ventilate the smoke, remove hazards and investigate, and the last unit had cleared the scene at 1:35 p.m.
The JCFR incident report states that investigators determined the fire was unintentional. The homeowner told them she was cooking and believes she turned on the wrong burner, where a pot of cooking oil sat. When the oil got hot and ignited, she tried to remove the pot, but was unable to handle it due to excessive heat and smoke.
Property loss is estimated at $100,000 along with an estimated loss of $150,000 worth of contents.
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