A fire that started on a kitchen stove badly damaged a Salina home Wednesday evening.

Salina Fire Marshall Roger Williams tells KSAL News that first responders were dispatched at around 7:00 to the report of  a house on fire at 1125 E. Beloit. The first crews on scene discovered a working fire.

“Flames were not visible, but the smoke was so thick it was hard to see nearby homes in the neighborhood,” Williams said.

According to Williams, three people live in the house. Only one of them was home, Matthew Heller. He was able to safely escape.

The fire caused extensive smoke damage throughout the home, and heat damage in the kitchen and attic.

Williams determined that the fire started on the stove, and was cooking-related.

Heller apparently turned on a burner to do some cooking, and then fell asleep. Williams says it’s fortunate that Heller woke up, otherwise things could have turned out much worse.

The home was left uninhabitable.

There were no injuries.