'Careless cooking' cause of massive apartment fire in Regina

Regina fire officials say "careless cooking" was the cause of the Jan. 9 fire that left dozens homeless and caused major damage to an apartment building.

None of the residents were hurt, but two people had to be rescued from their suite and two firefighters received minor injuries fighting the blaze.

On Friday, fire officials said the fire broke out when somebody left a stove unattended with the burners on.

It then appears that heat from the burners ignited some cooking oil or other combustible material nearby. The resulting fire spread up to the ceiling through a gap next to the oven vent and spread into the attic.

"We're not fully sure that it originated in a pot full of oil or some other kind of combustible material adjacent to that pot of oil," Gerard Kay, deputy fire chief, said Friday.

The smoke detector went off and the resident at the suite realized there was a fire.

Total damage is estimated at $4 million.

It's the latest in a series of fires in the city caused by pots left on the stove or other cooking-related incidents.

According to the fire department, 468 homes in Regina were damaged or destroyed by fires caused by careless cooking over the past 10 years. One person died.

Kay said fire officials are now working with university researchers to study the reason behind forgotten or unattended kitchens.

"Is it the modern technology? Is it the telephone rings? Or is it just the TV's on [and] you get caught up in the show?" Kay said "There's a multitude of different things."