RFD fights Friday fire

By Alison James

alison.james@fct.wpengine.com

An electric stove left on after cooking French fries was almost a deadly mistake.

Fire Chief Joe Mansell and the Russellville Fire Department responded to a fire Friday at 11 a.m. at Holiday Plaza apartments.

“We did have flames coming out the front door, and flames were actually coming out the back living room window,” said Mansell. “If that smoke detector had not gone off, we would have had fatalities in that apartment.”

The ground-floor apartment’s occupants were both asleep at the time the fire began, caused a stove eye mistakenly left on.

Mansell thanked the apartment management for making sure smoke detectors were installed and in working order in Holiday Plaza apartments. After a quick search to determine that there were no people in the two apartments above – all other apartments already confirmed empty – the Russellville Fire Department was about to quickly contain the flames.

Mansell gave special thanks to Lt. Chad Sheffield of the Russellville Police Department for his assistance in managing a busy fire scene and also commended all other responding officers.

“That was one fire that it seemed like everything just worked out they way it was supposed to,” Mansell said.

The fire was confined to the kitchen, which was basically gutted, and part of the living room, which had some fire damage. The apartment, and a couple surrounding apartments, received smoke damage.

Mansell encouraged everyone to ensure they have smoke detectors installed and working in their homes. The RFD can install smoke detectors for those who need them. Call 256-332-8711 for more information.