A small fire broke out in La Maison du Bayou Monday night when a pot of cooking grease was left unattended on an occupant’s stove, resulting in a slight burn to one of the occupants’ hands and water damage to two apartments. Michael Naquin, assistant vice president for finance and controller, said that his office received a call about a fire in La Maison around 5:45 p.m.

“When we arrived there, the fire had been extinguished because the sprinkler system had been activated, and it really did its job,” Naquin said.

The fire occurred in room 716 and was caused by an unattended pot of grease left on a stove with the burner on, Naquin said. “It set the cabinet and microwave above the stove on fire.”

Janieka Mills, nursing sophomore from Marrero, said she doesn’t know what happened.

“I went to the store to get some stuff, and when I came back, the stove was on fire,” Mills said.

The fire looked small, Mills said, so she attempted to turn off the burner, but the flames flared up and burned her hand. Mills refused treatment for her hand from Acadian Ambulance.

Naquin said the sprinkler system was turned off once it was clear the fire was extinguished.

“We took some furniture out and got most of the water out,” Naquin said. Some of the water seeped into the neighboring apartment.

Room 716 is unlivable right now, Naquin said, but the neighboring room should be livable soon.

“There’s still some water that’s seeping through the walls,” Naquin said. “There’s no estimate of the cost of damage yet, but the damage was moderate.”

The breaker has been isolated for the two rooms, but everyone else in the building will be unaffected by the events, Naquin said. The sprinkler system has also been re-activated.

The occupants of the room were offered other on-campus housing, but have decided to stay with friends off-campus.

“We always makes sure they have a place to go to,” Naquin said.

According to official police reports, two disciplinary summons were given.