2 people badly burned in cooking fire, Gainesville firefighters say

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two people suffered significant burns during what firefighters described as a cooking fire.

Gainesville Fire Rescue officials said the victims were heating a frying pan that had cooking oil on top of a stove, which caught fire. A 21-year-old tried to remove the pan from the stove to take it outside, which spread hot and flaming oil throughout the kitchen and living room.

Both the 21-year-old and a 15-year-old were taken to Shands Hospital with burns to the lower extremities.

Fire officials said the adult suffered burns on about 19 percent of the body, while the teen suffered burns on about 15 percent of the body.

Firefighters are using the incident to remind people to never leave cooking unattended, especially with hot grease or oil on top of a stove. They said during a stovetop fire, place the lid back on the pot and once the flames are extinguished, carefully turn the burner off.