A Bend apartment building sustained $50,000 in damages after a cooking fire on Saturday evening.

The Bend Fire Department received reports about a fire at the Legacy Landings Apartment building on Tucson Way, a building that contains 60 apartments on the upper three floors and a Mosaic Medical Clinic on the ground floor.

Upon arrival, they found a fire in the kitchen of an apartment on the 3rd floor, which had been controlled by a fire sprinkler system. Many of the residents had already evacuated at that point.

Crews were able to stop the water and clear the smoke from the building.

The water and smoke damage meant people in five apartments had to be displaced until the clean-up by a restoration company was finished. The Red Cross helped the six people from those apartments find hotel rooms for the night.

The Mosaic Medical Clinic sustained water damage, but business will open as usual on Monday.

The Bend Fire Department wants to remind the public to take care when cooking, as cooking fires are the leading cause of house fires in the U.S.

They shared the following safety tips:

Cook with Caution

  • Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol don’t use the stove or stove top.
  • Stay in the kitchen while you are cooking. If you leave the kitchen for even a short time, turn off the stove and oven.
  • If you are simmering, baking, roasting, or broiling food, check it regularly; remain in the home while food is cooking and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking. Unattended cooking is leading cause of cooking fires in America.
  • Keep anything that can catch fire – oven mits, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels and curtains – away from the cook top.

If You Have a Cooking Fire…

  • Get out and Stay out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire. Turn off the stove and oven when you leave if you can do it safely.
  • Ensure everyone else in the home is evacuating as well.
  • Call 911 immediately.
  • If you try to fight the fire, be sure others are getting out and calling 911 for you. Ensure you have a clear way out too.
  • Keep a lid nearby when you’re cooking to smother small grease fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stove top. Leave the pan covered until it’s completely cooled!
  • For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.