
AUGUSTA — A burner set fire to an air fryer, causing significant damage in the kitchen of an apartment on Water Street Thursday evening.
Augusta Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Leach said crews responded to a kitchen fire that rendered a stove, air fryer and microwave unusable.
“We didn’t really see much of anything from the outside, but when the crews got through to the hallway on the second floor there was smoke in the hallway,” Leach said. “It was heavy smoke conditions.”

The air fryer was turned off and sitting partway on a stove, partway on a countertop set. A burner got turned on and set a fire causing smoke and other damage in the kitchen. The tenant of the apartment was not sure how the burner was turned on, and the fire was deemed accidental.
There were no injuries, although the tenant was not able to stay the night at the apartment.
“The acrid smoke from plastic burning, the ceilings are covered with soot, ceiling and walls in the kitchen area, and it’s an open concept apartment,” Leach said. “The fumes and smoke damage are the reason.”
No mutual aid was required, but off-duty Augusta Fire Department members covered the station.
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