Kitchen fire displaces five people

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) - A late morning kitchen fire displaced five people in the East End Sunday.

Firefighters received a call about a fire in the 700 block of 32nd Street just after 11:30 a.m., said Battalion Chief Stephen C. Pincus . They arrived about a minute later to find smoke coming from the home's first and second floors.

Crews entered the house to find the fire had started in the kitchen. Firefighters had the fire under control at 11:45 a.m., Pincus said.

All five residents escaped the home on their own, but medics took one man to Riverside Regional Medical Center for smoke inhalation. Investigators determined the fire started when an occupant turned on the stove in the self-clean cycle and ignited a pot of grease in the oven.

The fire spread throughout the kitchen and smoke filled the entire home, Pincus said.  Fire officials estimated damage at $30, 000.00, and they condemned the home.  Dominion Virginia Power crews pulled the electrical meter to the home, and Red Cross workers were called to assist the displaced residents.