A dog was rescued early Monday after a Texas man attempting to cook french fries ignited a grease fire, authorities said.

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A man was heating oil to cook the fries in his second-floor Houston apartment when a grease fire "exploded," firefighters told the Houston Chronicle.

"When he put his fries in, it kind of exploded," Houston Fire District Chief Steven Whitehorn told the newspaper.

The man evacuated his apartment, but firefighters had to rescue the black dog, the Chronicle reported. The dog was doing "OK," firefighters said.

One unit of the apartment complex was damaged by fire, but other apartments were affected by smoke, the newspaper reported.

Zane Justice, a neighbor, said the fire was "a tragedy,"

"They need to learn how to cook. If you don't know how to cook. stay out of the kitchen," Justice told the Chronicle. "That's what my grandma always taught me."