Three children were able to escape a house fire in Gastonia after being left alone, officials said.
Firefighters responded to a reported house fire on Baker Boulevard around 2 a.m. Crews on the scene said three children, ages 11, 14 and 15, were able to get out of the house after a fire started in the kitchen.
The fire was extinguished in about 10 minutes, fire officials report.
Officials said there were no adults home at the time of the fire. The kids were awoken by a smoke alarm and ran to a neighbor's house and called 911. Firefighters determined the fire caused an estimated $15,000 in damages and was started by food left unattended while cooking on the stove.
According to the family's aunt, the kids are trained to stay home alone when their mom sometimes works overnight shifts.
A dog was killed in the fire, according to investigators.
Officials recommend the public follow a few simple guidelines while preparing meals:
1. Always stay in the kitchen while baking, frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you have to leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
2. When simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
3. Keep anything that can catch fire such as oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains away from the stove top.
The first defense for occupants in case of a house fire is a working smoke alarm. 80 percent of child fire fatalities occur in homes without working smoke alarms. Citizens should change the batteries in smoke alarms twice per year, and test the alarms monthly.