POULSBO — A kitchen fire damaged a stove and cupboards before being doused Friday afternoon before the fire could spread to nearby apartments.

Residents at the apartment complex, near the Regal Cinemas Poulsbo 10 on Edvard Street off Viking Avenue, noticed black smoke billowing from an apartment window at 12:20 p.m. Sept. 21. The 62-year-old male and 51-year-old female residents had begun cooking, using an electrical appliance that was placed on the stovetop. They then left the apartment, not realizing that they had turned on the wrong burner, and the plastic base of the appliance ignited. Fortunately, they were nearby in the apartment manager’s office.

The residents returned and tried to smother the fire with blankets but the blankets also ignited. The manager and the maintenance man were able to extinguish the fire using two extinguishers.

Firefighters urge residents to never store anything on your stovetop.

“Fires like this are not uncommon,” according to Poulsbo Fire spokeswoman Jody Matson said. “Occasionally we respond to a person’s home for a medical assist or to install smoke alarms and notice people are using their stove for storage. It is very dangerous. Pot holders, towels and loose clothing are all common ignition sources of stove top fires and injuries.” Unattended cooking fires are the number one cause of residential home fires.