Downtown Fresno apartment fire causes injury, evacuations
A flaming cooking pan started an apartment fire in downtown Fresno on Monday morning, leaving one man with second-degree burns.
The blaze started around 9:20 a.m. and was quickly extinguished with help from a sprinkler system that went off inside an apartment at City View @ Van Ness, located at Van Ness Avenue and Inyo Street, said Fresno Fire Department Deputy Chief Richard Cabral.
The injured man, who was not named, took a flaming pan onto a second-floor balcony to try to extinguish it – but hot oil in the pan ended up catching apartment blinds on fire, Cabral said.
The blaze burned one of the man’s arms and his forehead, along with some of his apartment. His unit was the only one to receive fire damage or have a sprinkler system activated, Cabral said.
The apartment complex was temporarily evacuated.
Cabral shared a safety message: It’s unsafe to taking a flaming pan outside. Turning off the stove, using a fire extinguisher, and covering a pan with a cover are safer options, he said.
The injured man was not transported to a hospital, but was advised to seek further medical attention.
