East Beatrice Kitchen Fire Causes Minor Injuries to Occupant

BEATRICE – A small fire in a kitchen sent Beatrice Firefighters to an apartment complex in the east part of the city, early Tuesday.
Fire personnel were sent to 2302 Ella Street at about 3:50 a.m. Fire Captain Craig Fisher says a male occupant was able to get out of the apartment on his own.

"He was up walking, he walked to the ambulance".

There was a report by Beatrice Communications Center that an ambulance was sent to the scene for a 27-year-old male with burns to his arms and hands. The man was being treated in an ambulance at the scene. Fisher said the fire did minimal damage.  "It had to do something with cooking, on the stove. We were actually able to extinguish it, with a fire extinguisher".

Fire damage was confined mostly to a stove in the kitchen. The apartment, just north of the former Shopko Store, was equipped with a fire alarm.
"There was an automatic fire alarm, so we got early notification. As soon as that smoke detector went off, we were being notified of what was going on out here".

Firefighters used a fan to clear smoke out of the apartment unit. The apartment is one of several at the complex. It appeared that there was no damage to surrounding units. Firefighters were finished at the scene at around 4:22 a.m.