KANGAROO JACK - DYAN CANNON THANKFUL TO ESCAPE KITCHEN FIRE

KANGAROO JACK star DYAN CANNON compares her escape from her recent kitchen fire to dodging a bullet.

The actress was treated at Los Angeles' CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER for mild smoke inhalation on Sunday morning (04APR04) and now feels healthy and "filled with gratitude" to firefighters and others who helped her.

She says, "They told me I got out just in time, and a couple of minutes later I would've been dead. When you hear something like that you just say a prayer... I dodged a bullet."

Cannon, 67, plans to stay with friends for a few days before living in a hotel for several months while her West Hollywood condominium is repaired.

She says the damage to her kitchen is "extensive" but notes that the fire had been mostly confined to that room. Fire officials estimate damage to her home at $100,000 (GBP55,500) and damage to nearby units at $10,000 (GBP5,500).

A preliminary investigation indicates it may have been started by an electrical fault in the vent above a stove, says fire inspector RICARDO RODRIGUEZ.