Passerby Catches Kitchen Fire Early On South Shore Drive

A Madison woman was out for a walk Thursday night when she heard an alarm sounding from a nearby home on South Shore Drive. She diverted toward the home to see what was going on. As she came closer to the home, she smelled something burning and called 911. 
 
Neighbors escorted firefighters to the back of the house, where extremely light smoke was showing in the area. They did see a flicker of fire through the front door window.
 
Ladder Company 1 broke a pane of glass, unlocked the door, and entered. They found a stack of papers burning on the stove, which they extinguished with their handheld water extinguisher.
 
When firefighters entered the kitchen, an audible clicking sound – that of the electronic ignition – was heard coming from the left burner. A firefighter reached for the knob and turned it off.
 
Nobody was home at the time, but two residents arrived just as firefighters began packing up. They were distraught as they recalled to firefighters that they’d been looking for these important documents and later remembered they were left on the stove.