Main Street Apartment Building Evacuated When Food Burns on Stove

The sounds of fire alarms woke residents of a Main Street apartment building early Thursday morning after someone left food on the stove without turning the burner off.

The call for the smoke in the building at 245 Main Street, at Whites Avenue, came in just before 3 a.m., said Watertown Deputy Fire Chief Tom McManus.

“Food caught on fire on top of the stove,” McManus said. “The person fell asleep and (the burning food) charred the apartment with smoke, in addition to getting into the hallway.”

Watertown Police officers arrived first and began evacuating residents on the second floor of the building, where the fire occurred, McManus said.

The fire did not get out of the pot, McManus said, and no one was hurt. The smoke was quite thick, however, and firefighters had to wear breathing masks.

All the residents declined medical treatment, McManus said, including the man who left the food on the stove.

“He was more shaken up by the event,” McManus said.

Fire crews blew the smoke out of the hallway and the apartment before residents could return to their apartments, McManus said.