Cooking sparks fire that destroys small house | News

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. -- Fire heavily damaged a small house in Wheat Ridge Tuesday.

911 calls started coming into dispatch at about 7:40 a.m. about a structure fire at 12085 W. 52nd Ave. That's near 52nd and Ward Rd.

Crews with the Arvada Fire Protection District reported seeing smoke from six blocks away. Flames were shooting out of the small building when they arrived. It was located behind nine greenhouses.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames within about 10 minutes. There were no injuries.

"The caretaker of the greenhouses, his wife and four children have been displaced by the fire and will be staying in a rental home that they own," says Arvada Fire spokesman Scott Pribble.

Pribble also says the fire started as a result of cooking.

He wants to remind people that cooking fires are the leading cause of house fires in America. "Be sure that when you are cooking and need to leave the kitchen, turn off the stove top. Even the smallest thing can distract you from returning."