At approximately 11:30 a.m. Seattle Fire Department dispatched 22 units to a house fire at 2609 36th Ave. W. in Magnolia.

According to SFD, while cooking on the kitchen stove on the main level of the home, the resident thought she had turned the stove off and left the room. By the time she returned there was a stovetop fire.

She quickly evacuated her infant child and returned to the fire with extinguishers. By that time the fire had spread to the cabinets in the kitchen. She was able to extinguish the flames and the fire department was called to secure the area.

In the process of fighting off the fire the resident suffered smoke inhalation and was urged by SFD to seek medical attention. Her husband brought her to Swedish Hospital.

Kyle Moore, spokes person for the Seattle Fire Department, reported that fire from unattended food on the stove is the number one reason SFD is dispatched, and 22 units is not uncommon for house fires.

“22 units is pretty typical for a house fire that’s a full response, and we can always turn them around if we don’t need them,” said Moore.

Moore estimated the damage cause by the fire is less than $50,000.

For kitchen fires, SFD has these tips:

• Keep the stove clean and use it for cooking only.
• Check on food regularly while cooking – unattended cooking is the number one cause of home fires
• Keep children at least 3 feet away for the stove
• Unplug kitchen electrical items which have a heating element such as coffee pots, rice cookers and toasters, when not in use
• If a fire starts on the stove, cover it with a lid or metal cookie sheet and turn the stove off. Don’t throw water on a grease fire.
• If a grease fire happens, turn off the burner and put a lid over the pan. Do not use water on the fire!

Moving into the fall and winter season, Moore explained that citizens should be aware of a different cause of house fires: heaters.

“At this point in the season we start seeing baseboard heater fires. Winter comes and people start turning on their heaters, and we see more of those fires because people aren’t keeping objects three feet away. … They move things around in the summer and forget to move them away from the heaters before they turn them on in the winter.”

Heater and others safety tips:

• Give your heaters space- baseboard heaters need 1 foot clearance and portable space heaters should have 3 feet clearance
• Turn portable heaters off when you leave or go to sleep
• Never use extension cords with portable heaters
• Extinguish candles before leaving the room and before going to bed, or better yet, use flameless candles instead