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One man’s dinner nearly cost him his life. A kitchen fire that began with unattended grease on a stove was just a few feet away from potential explosives. The blaze at Sand Star Villas Thursday evening could have ended much worse because propane tanks and gasoline were sitting near a water heater just feet away from the fire’s source.

The sole tenant of the apartment, Steve Verrier, 51 said he was heating up some cooking oil in a pan shortly before 9 p.m. and then went upstairs. Verrier is now looking for a new home, but said he feared the isolated incident would reflect poorly on him.

“You know how it is. It’s a small island. I’ve never had anything like this happen before,” he said.

Verrier said he made one huge mistake by leaving the pan filled with grease unattended on the stove, but he believed his quick action minimized the damage.

“I had the fire pretty much out by the time they got here and I had shut the breakers off,” he said.

Verrier reported that upon smelling smoke, he ran downstairs and through the smoke-filled living room. Dodging flames, facing intense heat and thick smoke filling up his kitchen he began working on extinguishing the fire. Without checking the sliding glass door for heat, he reached out the back door for a garden hose and sprayed water through the cracked open door at the flaming stove.

“The door was hot. I guess it’s like they say, adrenaline just took over,” he said.

Marco Island Fire Rescue received a report of the fire through a 911 call at 9:06 p.m. just moments after alerts of smoke in the area from Marco Island Police units. Firefighters arrived on scene six minutes later.

LCEC also shut off electricity to the unit upon a call from the fire department.

Fire crews from Isles of Capri and Collier County EMS assisted Marco Island in extinguishing the fire and securing the structure. Occupants from the nine apartments adjacent to the fire at 761 W. Elkcam Circle unit A-106 were evacuated.

The firefighters escaped a riskier situation than they were initially aware of as they discovered that inside a closet – less than 10 feet away from the pan and stove – were two full tanks of propane and gallons of gasoline sitting on a shelf near the water heater along with other flammable materials.

“Flammables should never be stored in water heater, electrical or confined spaces inside of a structure. This represents an extreme danger to the occupants and responding personnel,” said Fire Chief Mike Murphy.

While all the flammable liquids are dangerous, the propane tanks may cause the greatest amount of damage if ignited, officials warn.

One exploding propane tank used for a barbecue grill landed 365 feet away from its original location causing multiple structure and brush fires this March in Leavenworth, Kan., according to a report on www.fireengineering.com.

Tom Helmick lives three doors down from Thursday’s structure fire and came home from celebrating his son’s birthday shortly after 10 p.m. to see fire trucks lined up on his street.

“I asked where the fire was and (a fireman) said ‘down there on the end.’ I thought, oh no, I’m on the end. I thought it could have been mine,” Helmick said.

Helmick said he didn’t have any smoke damage in his unit but fire officials reported that the two closest apartments had minimal smoke damage. He said Verrier was a “great neighbor” and he had compassion for what Verrier was going through.

“Things happen,” he added.

All owners were allowed to return to their units after fire operations had ceased at about 10 p.m., residents estimated.

It was approximately 30 minutes after fire crews first arrived on scene when Murphy reported the situation was under control.

“There were no injuries and everybody got out safely,” he said.

The two-story town home sustained major fire damage on the bottom floor where the kitchen was located with fire and smoke damage extended to the second floor of the home.

The owner of the home, Terry Mether, turned over the condominium unit to the Sand Star Villas property manager. Property damage was estimated at more than $100,000 according to the Marco Island Fire Rescue report released Friday afternoon. The building was condemned as of 10:30 a.m. Friday as being unsafe and unsanitary for occupancy.

The City of Marco Island Building Department and Code Enforcement are doing follow up with the property owner and manager.

Verrier said the fire was “devastating” and added that it feels as if he has to start his life all over again.

He battled the fire and escaped the unit without so much as a minor burn.

“I’ve got a little cough, but I’ll get over it,” he said Friday morning.