Firefighters quickly put out Petaluma kitchen fire

Petaluma firefighters quickly put out a small kitchen fire Friday afternoon that was caused by a resident leaving the home while a pot was cooking on the stove, authorities said.

Fire units were dispatched at 3:10 p.m. to a house in the 700 block of B Street on the west side of town, according to Battalion Chief Chad Costa.

Firefighters found moderate smoke coming from the front door and entered the house, where they quickly extinguished the fire on the stove, Costa said in a statement. No one was home at the time, and the fire did not spread to the rest of the kitchen.

The fire crew determined the blaze was started by a tenant who left the house without realizing a pot was still being heated on the stove, Costa said. Firefighters attributed a rapid call to 911 by a neighbor for saving the home, where the smoke alarms had been taken down and disabled.