Fire destroys apartment in West Toledo

5/8/2004

A craving for home-cooked french fries last night led to a fast-moving kitchen fire that caused $50,000 damage to an apartment at 2212 West Sylvania Ave. in West Toledo. No one was hurt, authorities said.

Patty Smith, the occupant of the apartment, and her boyfriend, whose name was not available, were cooking french fries about 8 p.m. when the oil became too hot and ignited. In an attempt to extinguish the flames, the pair threw kitty litter on the flames only to see the burning grease splash out and set the kitchen on fire, Battalion Fire Chief Frank Keating said.

By the time firefighters arrived minutes later, the pair had escaped unhurt, but the blaze was moving so fast that it spread through the whole one-bedroom apartment by the time fire crews had it under control within about 20 minutes, Chief Keating said.

None of the rest of the 20 apartments in the two-story wood frame, brick veneer building owned by Toledo-based Neighborhood Property Incorporated sustained any damage, the chief said.