Sunday apartment fire contained to kitchen

A kitchen fire in a Columbus apartment led to the evacuation of the building but caused only about $6,500 dollars in damages.

Columbus Fire Department reports that they were called to the Steinhurst Manor Apartments on Salzburg Boulevard at about 6:36 p.m. Sunday after a tenant discovered a fire in her apartment kitchen. Firefighters were on scene within about three minutes and entered the second floor apartment where they discovered heavy smoke. They quickly extinguished the fire with a water fire extinguisher.

The tenant told fire investigators that she was alerted to the fire by smoke alarms. She had recently finished cooking a meal and was eating it in the bedroom when the alarms went off. She discovered the fire on the stove top, which had already spread to the cabinets above the stove. Investigators discovered that a trash can had been put on the countertop while the tenant swept the floor, and the hot burner ignited the plastic container.

Firefighters say that they were able to contain the fire before it spread into the apartment or the building’s construction. Fire damage was isolated to the apartment kitchen with smoke damage throughout the apartment.

The couple living in the apartment will be staying with family.