LAKEVILLE – A man and a young girl are in the hospital after a cooking fire burned them Friday in Massachusetts.
It happened just after 2 p.m. on Woodland Ridge Drive in Lakeville.
Flash cooking fire
The Lakeville Fire Department said residents were cooking a Portuguese dish called Chouriço à Bombeiro, also known as “firehouse chorizo.” The dish uses alcohol to cook the chorizo on a clay dish.
Fire officials say the residents were adding more alcohol to maintain the cooking flame when a flash fire occurred. A gust of wind may have caused the flame to spread through the kitchen and to the man and young girl who were near the flame, fire officials said.
“This was just a freak accident and it caused the entire kitchen counter to burst into a very intense, rapid flame,” Lakeville Deputy Fire Chief Pamela Garant said.
Other people in the home doused the flames on the victims with towels, rugs and blankets before extinguishing the remaining fire in the kitchen with a fire extinguisher.
“Even with safety measures and a fire extinguisher nearby, accidents happen, you are literally cooking with fire,” Garant said.
The man was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with serious burns. The young girl was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital with minor burns.
“This was a tragic incident, but it could have been much worse, and so we are grateful to the family and friends who all acted quickly,” Garant said.
First responders say the man is in serious but stable condition and the young girl is expected to be OK.
Be careful when cooking with an open flame
She advises people to be careful when cooking with an open flame over the holiday weekend and that this family has done it before without incident, but accidents can happen.
“It just goes to show you can never be complacent; anytime you use flames you just have to be respectful of it and staffing is important. We were able to expedite that call,” Garant said.
