A Poulsbo man and his two young children are safe after a May 26 fire threatened their home, the Poulsbo Fire Department reports. The 28-year-old man left his cooking temporarily unattended around 2:30 p.m. in is First Avenue vicinity house. His 3-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son were sleeping in their rooms at the time. The man’s 26-year-old wife was not home.

After the fire ignited, a neighbor noticed the smoke coming from the kitchen window and called 911.

The man told firefighters he was surprised how quickly the fire spread, and first thought to douse it with water, but remembered that’s not a good idea when it’s a grease fire.

Instead, he used a fire extinguisher to temporarily douse the fire until the extinguisher ran out. He then grabbed his two children and evacuated the home. The PFD arrived six minutes later and completely extinguished the fire.

Damage was confined to the stove and the area above the stove, including the ceiling. The home also suffered smoke damage. Official damage estimates are not available at this time.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries. The leading cause of fires in the kitchen is unattended cooking, according to the PFD’s release.