SYRACUSE, Utah — After a cooking fire that could have ended up much worse, a Davis County family wants to remind others to be prepared with a tool that helped save the day.
On Friday, Ashley Horn’s kids were making pancakes in the kitchen.
"I was in my room working and Wisdom was making pancakes,” said Horn. “And suddenly my 6-year-old comes running to tell me there’s a fire."
She said didn’t even know the kids were in the kitchen.
"The fire just splattered on, I don’t know how, just splattered on, it just went on,” explained one of Horn’s daughters, 6-year-old Hilde Ocean.
"The stove was on high heat and I was using oil so I was talking to my mom and it was smoking and I didn’t know, and then I came in and it was smoking really much,” said 10-year-old Wisdom Ocean.
Horn used a fire blanket to put out the flames.
"I just grabbed it, pulled it out of the pouch on the wall, and I just kind of tossed it over the fire,” explained Horn.
Then the family went outside the house and firefighters responded to the scene. By then, the fire was out and there was no damage.
"And when they were about to leave, shook my hand and said, 'I’m really proud of you' and 'You saved your house' and he said 'I’ve never seen anyone use this before,' which I was very surprised by because I thought it was like a very common product,” said Horn. “And then he asked if he could keep the blanket for public safety demonstrations."
Syracuse Fire Marshal Golden Barrett said it’s important to always be prepared for a fire emergency with either an extinguisher or a fire blanket. He said they don’t see fire blankets used very often, but they can help specifically put out cooking fires and clothing on fire.
The fire department said it’s important to stay calm in these situations, turn the fuel off, and then extinguish the flame. Horn is worried about what could have happened.
"It’s been hitting me, how bad that could have been,” said Horn. “This morning, I just learned about my 9-year-old reaching and turning off the stove and then pulling back her arm and the fire happening. So that’s kind of scary to think about that she could have been burned."
They all hope it doesn’t happen again.
"Maybe next time, I should ask to cook pancakes and then have someone watch me,” said Wisdom.
