Firefighters called to own station blaze

WAIPAHU, Hawaii, June 23 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Waipahu, Hawaii, said food left cooking while they were out on a call caused an embarrassing blaze at their own station house.

Fire Capt. Terry Seelig said firefighters left food cooking when they responded to reports of a traffic crash May 22. They received a second call on their way back from the crash to put out a fire at their own station, the Honolulu Advertiser reported Tuesday.

"The firefighters (at the station) are very chagrined about it," Seelig said. "It goes to show that no one is immune."

Seelig said unattended cooking is one of the top causes of fires locally.

"The fire's cause was attributed to unattended cooking," Seelig said. "We, like everybody else, need to be careful and attentive when cooking."

The fire caused about $25,000 worth of damage to the station house, Seelig said. He said the kitchen was previously scheduled for renovation and the damage has already been repaired.