Westborough Kitchen Fire Shows Dangers Of Unattended Cooking

WESTBOROUGH, MA — A kitchen fire on Thursday turned into a cautionary tale and warning for Westborough residents. The fire happened on Thursday morning in a building in Treetop Park.

Fire officials said they received a call about "alarms sounding" from neighbors int he area. When they arrives, smoke was coming from one of the apartments in the building. Officials said someone left food cooking in the kitchen unattended.

Officials warned resident to always stay with food while its cooking in the kitchen, especially over an open flame. Cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home fire injuries according to MFIRS statistics. In 2017, there were 10,533 home fires in Massachusetts involving cooking.

Cooking related fires were responsible for 47 percent of all fires reported in single and two family dwellings and over 83 percent of fires in apartments, dormitories, rooming houses and residential board and care facilities, according to the state Department of Fire Services.