Firefighters put out small kitchen fire

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The Naugatuck Fire Department responds to 107 Walnut St. after a report of a fire inside the residence Monday evening. –RA ARCHIVE
The Naugatuck Fire Department responds to 107 Walnut St. after a report of a fire inside the residence Monday evening. –RA ARCHIVE

NAUGATUCK — Firefighters may have saved the owner of a duplex at 107 Walnut St. a lot of cleaning by using an unorthodox technique to put out a kitchen fire around 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Flames from food burning on a stovetop spread to an overhead exhaust fan and cabinets, according to firefighters. When they arrived, there were only two small patches of fire burning a cabinet, so they filled a pan of water in the sink and doused the flames. It took two pans, according to one firefighter.

That allowed firefighters to avoid using a hose and pumping a lot of unnecessary water into the kitchen. There was smoke damage in the first-floor apartment, and firefighters used a large fan to vent the dwelling.

Building co-owner Horaldo DaSilva, who lives in the upstairs apartment, said his wife and two children were fine, though the excitement had frightened his 9-year-old daughter.

A family of three adults and two children lived in the first-floor apartment, he said. Firefighters reported no injuries.

It was unclear whether the first-floor family would stay the night. The Red Cross was called to help, but DaSilva said fire officials had cleared the building as habitable.