Sprinkler puts out ‘ball of fire’ at NE Bend apartment

A grease fire erupted in a “ball of fire” Monday afternoon when a northeast Bend apartment resident put a burning pan in a sink and poured water on it — but a residential fire sprinkler activated and put out the flames, officials said.

A Bend Fire Department Service Response Vehicle responded around 2:25 p.m. to a reported alarm sounding with a request to reset at the Outlook at Pilot Butte Artments on Northeast Linnea Drive, Battalion Chief Dave Howe.

The crew found a grease fire out on their arrival and reset the alarm, also assuring the resident was unhurt..

Damage was estimated at $2,200 to the structure and $500 worth of contents.

“The Bend Fire Department reminds people NEVER to apply water to a grease or oil fire; rather, slide a lid on the burning pan and exclude air,” Howe said in a news release. “Water on an oil fire always makes it worse.”

“The presence of residential sprinklers in the apartment saved a huge property loss and potentially prevented injuries and fatalities,” he added. “Fire apparatus were not called because the alarm came in as an investigation, and the fire itself was out on arrival.”