Unattended Cooking Causes Fire at Newport Hills Condominium Complex

An unwatched cooking pot caused a fire at Newport Hills condominium Thursday evening, according to the Bellevue Fire Department.

A resident of the Newport Hills Condominiums called 9-1-1 just after 7 p.m. Thursday when he spotted "heavy smoke" coming from his neighbor's condominium, according to Bellevue Fire Department spokesman Lt. Troy Donlin in a press release.

Bellevue firefighters arriving at the condo complex, in the 5700 block of 122nd Ave. S.E., found heavy smoke coming from one of the six units, according to Donlin's press release.

A 16 -year-old girl said she left cooking oil on the stove unattended prior to the fire, according to the press release. The unit had no working smoke detectors in the home and the neighbor that called 9-1-1 that alerted the young girl to the fire, according to the fire department.

Damage to the 6-unit building was confined to the fire unit, according to the press release. Bellevue investigators determined the origin to be the kitchen and the cause to be “accidental,” unattended cooking, according to the fire department.

The unit's four residents were displaced, two adults and two children, and will stay with family in the area. Damage is estimated at $200,000. No injuries were reported, the fire department reported.

Unattended cooking remains the number one cause of residential fires in Bellevue, the fire department reported.