Cooking fire destroys home in Clearwater

Clearwater firefighters approach the blaze that destroyed a home on Carmel Avenue. [Special to the Times | Eamonn Kneeshaw]

CLEARWATER -- Two Clearwater firefighters were slightly injured while fighting a cooking fire Wednesday night that destroyed a home on Carmel Avenue south of downtown, officials said.

The fire started about 8:48 p.m. at the home of Carrie Nash, 39, and Lapriest Denson, 32. When firefighters arrived at 1510 Carmel Ave., both residents had escaped, and smoke and flames were showing from the single-story home. The house is just east of Fort Harrison Avenue.

Flames spread more quickly than normal because there were a lot of things inside the structure, officials said. Neighbors were evacuated as a precaution, and firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to other houses. It took firefighters 20 minutes to extinguish the fire. The home is a total loss, with damage estimated at $105,000.

Two firefighters suffered minor steam burns while fighting the fire. The names of the injured firefighters were not released, but officials said they were not taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries, which are not uncommon for firefighters battling this kind of fire.

The fire was an accident and started with a grease fire in the kitchen, officials said.

- Times staff writer