Marblehead kitchen fire displaces couple

MARBLEHEAD – A kitchen fire caused by cooking oil on a stove temporarily displaced a Marblehead couple Tuesday evening, but a local inn took them in free of charge, said Marblehead Fire Capt. Mike Porter.Two engines and one ladder responded just before 7 p.m. to an apartment at 8 Colonial Court where a grease fire had extended to the kitchen cabinets, Porter said.?Capt. Daniel Rice and the guys knocked it down real quick and kept the damage contained to the kitchen area,” Porter said.The couple, who are renting the unit, stayed at the Harbor Light Inn for the night as part of the department?s First Night?s On Us program, Porter said, where victims of fires or other disasters can stay at the inn for free one night.?Whenever we have something like this when someone is burned out of their house, they can stay there,” Porter said. “It?s just really helpful in that kind of stress.”The inn is run by Peter and Suzanne Conway, who sometimes let people stay longer if the need arises, Porter said.?You can only imagine what it?s gotta be like to lose everything and the last thing you want to worry about is where you?re gonna stay.”Porter said the fire department advised the couple not to stay in their home because the woman is pregnant. The owner of the home, who was at the scene, had already arranged to begin the clean-up process, he said.Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].