House In Orange Damaged In Fire

ORANGE, CT – A fire in an unattended self-cleaning oven Saturday night caused damage to an Orange home and led to three people being evaluated for smoke inhalation, fire officials said in a news release.

Orange Fire Chief Vaughn Dumas said firefighters were called to 832 Quarter Mile Road in Orange shortly before 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1 for a report of an oven fire. Firefighters discovered that the family had set the self-cleaning oven to clean and then left the house. When they returned, they found the house full of smoke and items in the storage drawer under the stove burning.

“The family called 9-1-1 and they were able to put out the fire and remove the storage drawer from the home,” said Dumas. “In doing so, however, they inhaled a lot of smoke, causing some health concerns.”

While some firefighters cleared smoke from the home, others performed an initial medical evaluation of the three people who were in the home. The residents were further evaluated by American Medical Response personnel but declined to go to the hospital.

“Operating between 800 and 1,000 degrees, self-cleaning ovens are a great convenience, but should not be left unattended,” said Dumas. “While some ranges have storage drawers underneath the ovens, homeowners should be certain that the drawer is indeed a storage drawer rather than a warmer or broiler. It can be confusing. And, like any other appliance, ranges need to be maintained and used following instructions.”

Dumas said the fire resulted in damage to the oven and smoke damage to the kitchen. The Fire Department does not issue damage estimates and because Orange firefighters were involved in the medical treatment of the homeowners, their names were protected under federal patient privacy rules. The Orange Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the incident.