Philomath firefighters responded Thursday afternoon to a report of a fire at The Boulevard Apartments in the eastern section of town but damage was limited thanks to a woman armed with a fire extinguisher, Philomath Fire and Rescue reported.
The local fire department was dispatched to the apartment complex on Main Street at 12:43 p.m. Rich Saalsaa, deputy fire chief, reported that an oven that had been set to self-clean ignited oil on the bottom of the appliance after 30 minutes of high heat.
“The quick-thinking occupant of the apartment grabbed a fire extinguisher from outside her door and used it to effectively put out the fire,” Saalsaa said. “Minimal damage was caused and crews used a fan to remove residual smoke from the apartment.”
A full structure fire response had been called to the incident, Saalsaa said, but the unit was canceled when the fire was discovered to be out on arrival.