Morris woman goes to hospital for treatment after kitchen fire
A Morris Township woman was taken to Washington Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation after the kitchen caught fire in her Conger Road home Wednesday afternoon.
Morris fire Chief Dave Dietrich said the woman, whose identity was not immediately available, was downstairs in the split-entry home about 2:50 p.m. when she smelled smoke. She went upstairs to investigate and saw the fire in the kitchen.
Dietrich said she tried to find the house telephone to call 911. When she could not find it, she found her cellphone and went outside to call for help. The fire apparently was started by an unattended cable on a portable counter. It caught papers on fire, and the blaze spread to the wall and into the ceiling of the kitchen.
“If it had burned for a few more minutes, it would have been up in the attic,” Dietrich said. “Then it would have been a whole new ballgame.”
Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the kitchen, but there was smoke throughout the house, the chief added. He estimated damage at about $20,000.
Dietrich said cats and dogs that had been in the house were able to safely escape. The homeowner was taken to the hospital by an Ambulance and Chair crew. She was treated and released.
Assisting at the scene were firefighters from South Franklin and Amwell townships and Lone Pine. The Washington County Public Safety Rapid Intervention Team also was at the scene. North Franklin Township firefighters were on standby.