Dryer Fire Articles (2006)

Attained from searching news related articles in an attempt to drive home the importance of dryer exhaust maintenance.

Dryer Fire Information - Lint Buildup and Improper Venting Create a Real Hazard
Dryer Fire Damages House - Tracy Agnew - Suffolk News Herald (12/28/2006)

Suffolk, VA - A Suffolk resident arrived home from work Thursday night to find her home damaged by flames.  The fire broke out just before 6 p.m. in the 300 block of Turlington Road, damaging a utility room and kitchen, and causing heavy smoke and heat damage to the rest of the house, said fire officials.  The damage is estimated at $45,000 for the building and contents.  Nobody was home at the time of the fire, said Capt. Jim Judkins, spokesperson for the Suffolk Department of Fire and Rescue.  A pet hamster was the only casualty.  The cause of the fire was likely a dryer vent clogged with lint, said Judkins.  The blaze appeared to have started in or around where the dryer vents to the outside.

Firefighters Say Dryer Caused Hotel Fire - Gwinnett Daily Post (12/28/2006)

Suwanee, GA - Employees of the Admiral Benbow Inn reported a dryer fire to firefighters Wednesday morning.  Firefighters found light smoke coming from the back of the building located at 2955 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road, finding a small dryer that had been on fire but extinguished by hotel employees before fire crews arrived.  Fire crews assisted with smoke removal and confirmed the fire had not spread before leaving the fire site.

Home Destroyed by Dryer Fire on Christmas Eve - Rich Newberg - WIVB Channel 4 (12/25/2006)

Cheektowaga, NY - A Cheektowaga family is grateful to be alive after a fire destroyed their home on Christmas Eve.  The family is showing great spirit despite such tremendous loss.  Gifts were still being wrapped when the Christmas Eve fire started in the dryer downstairs.  The house was engulfed with smoke and flames when firefighters arrived.  Sherry and her daughter and two dogs had gotten out safely, but there were still pets in the house.  There were four ferrets in a cage, which is now melted, in the upstairs, and before Casey left the burning home, she took the ferrets out of there and tossed them into a room across the hall.  Casey said, "So, I just threw them into my room and shut the door, not even thinking about it."  But firefighters were thinking about it, and went back into the burning house to rescue the ferrets, even giving one oxygen.  They all lived.

Faulty Clothes Dryer Ignites Structure Fire - Keith Kinnaird - Bonner County Daily Bee (12/22/2006)

Sandpoint, ID - No injuries were reported and firefighters confined the damage largely to the laundry room, said Sagle Fire Lt. Jason Cordle.  The occupants of the daylight basement home on Upper Glengary Bay Road were away when fire broke out around 1 p.m.  "It looks like the dryer was the cause of the fire," Cordle said.  The machine was running when the mother and daughter staying in the house left on walk, said Cordle. The two returned to the peal of smoke alarms and saw flames coming out of the ground-floor entryway.  Firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to the rest of the house, but Cordle said the blaze did cause some heat and smoke damage outside the room.

Holladay Home Destroyed in Blaze - Camden Chronicle (12/20/2006)

Camden, TN - The home of Melissa and Robert Plant of Holladay was completely destroyed by fire Friday afternoon.  The Holladay-McIllwain Volunteer Fire Department found themselves fighting a structure fire in Holladay Friday, Dec. 15. Chalk Level Volunteer Fire Department was also at the scene.  According to witnesses, the fire started at around 2 p.m. and totally destroyed the home of Melissa and Robert Plant, 1426 Sorghum Road, before it was contained.  The blaze is believed to have been started by a clothes dryer.

Early Morning Alarm Sends Hotel Guests Scurrying - KTVU 2 News (12/19/2006)

San Jose, CA - An early morning two-alarm dryer fire in the laundry room at San Jose's high-rise Wyndham Hotel hotel Tuesday forced the evacuation of all nine floors of guests.  Guests of the hotel were evacuated due to heavy smoke that was billowing up into the building, according to Hovey.

Fire destroys half of apartment building, leaves 22 homeless - By Taylor Bright - Charlotte Observer (12/17/2006)

Charlotte, NC - A fire forced 22 people out of their homes after lint in a dryer ignited in a Mecklenburg County apartment complex on Saturday.  "The exhaust duct blocked up," said Jay Alexander, spokesman for the Idlewild Volunteer Fire Department.  The lint caught fire and was soon burning through the apartment building.  It destroyed half of the building.  The department arrived shortly after 1 p.m., Alexander said. It spent 45 minutes putting out the fire in the 20-apartment building.  The fire damaged eight apartments where the 22 people lived.  The other apartments were saved by a firewall, Alexander said.

Clothes Dryer to Blame - By Rob Carnie - DiscoverMoosejaw.com (12/15/2006)

Saskatchewan, Canada - Moose Jaw's 3rd house fire in the past 10 days is being blamed on a clothes dryer than accidentally caught fire. Our 3rd house fire in less than two weeks. A major fire in the Prairie Oasis Trailer Court early Thursday morning.  The mobile home suffered major damage.  Everything inside burned up.  Fire Inspector Greg Reeves telling us he found the cause of the blaze. "...a clothes dryer malfunction.  You know, for what started it, it sure caused a lot of damge."  Inspector Reeves urging us all to do something very few of us do and that is unplug your dryer, pull it out, take the back off and vacuum the lint.  He says it's a once a year job that is worth your time.  The man who lives in the home escaped with minor smoke inhalation.  Damage is estimated at $50,000.

Dryer Fire Leaves Family Homeless - By Cliff Judy - KWCH Kansas News (12/14/2006)

Witchita, KS- A family of four is homeless tonight after a house fire in South Wichita.  The fire started just before 10:00 Wednesday night near Harry and Waco.  The fire was so intense, firefighters had to retreat from the house and use defensive tactics.  Wichita Fire Marshall Ed Bricknell says the fire started in a laundry dryer on the north side of the house, and the likely cause was a full lint trap.  Bricknell says blocked lint traps can cause dryers to overheat and set clothes on fire.  Still, many people don't follow the easy solution of cleaning out their lint traps, causing $85 million damage a year nationwide.  "It's an easy thing to say.  It must be a difficult thing to do," says Bricknell, "because we have about 15,000 fires every year caused by dryers that have poor circulation or lint traps that are full."

Firefighter Injured at Slinger House Dryer Fire - By Staff and Wire Reports - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (12/4/2006)

Slinger, WI- A firefighter received a shoulder injury while helping fight a fire that started in the dryer in the basement of a home about 10:40 a.m. Sunday.  There was considerable damage to the home because the fire quickly moved to two first-floor bedrooms and into the floor of the second floor, Schaefer said.  Schaefer said the home could not be occupied.  The residents were expected to stay with family in the area.  It took about an hour to extinguish the blaze.  At about 2:40 p.m., crews were called back to the house because one area had reignited.

2 residents, 3 firefighters are injured in house fire - By SALLY GOLDENBERG - Staten Island Advance (12/4/2006)

A fire that started in the basement of a Mariners Harbor house yesterday afternoon ravaged the inside of the attached, single-family home, sending two residents and three firefighters to the hospital with minor injuries.  Firefighters are investigating the cause of the all-hands blaze that was believed to have started in a dryer.  Camielle Lucius went to St. Vincent's Hospital in West Brighton after she complained of smoke burning her eyes and face, said neighbor Damiel Spearman, who lives in the same complex.  "She'll be OK after she calms down. It's just the initial shock," Ms. Spearman said of the resident.  She said Ms. Lucius opened her basement door after smelling smoke and observed heavy fumes in the laundry room.

"'Everything is gone.' That's what she was saying. 'Everything's gone,'" the neighbor said. "We don't know what's lost."  Ms. Lucius' son, Samuel Franklin, who Ms. Spearman said is about 8 years old, also went to St. Vincent's because the smoke aggravated his asthma, the neighbor said.  Both Ms. Lucius and her son have since been released from the hospital, officials said late last night.

Lint buildup blamed in house fire - Bryn Mickle, The Flint Journal First Edition (11/21/2006)

MUNDY TWP.- Lint buildup in a dryer was blamed for a fire that forced a family from their home Monday afternoon.  Township firefighters were called to a house on Lawrence Street near Grand Blanc Road about 1:45 p.m. after the dryer caught fire.  The fire heavily damaged the laundry room and part of the kitchen and attic, said township fire Chief Tony Romans.  Officials estimated about $34,000 in damage.

Family homeless after house fire - Jim Wright, Press and Sun Bulleting (11/21/2006)

NORWICH An East Side City of Norwich family is homeless after a mid-afternoon fire heavily damaged their two-story wood-frame home at 11 North Delaware Square Tuesday.  The fire started in a ground floor dryer and quickly spread throughout the home, said Norwich Fire Capt. Greg Franklin.  The fire, reported at 3:07 p.m., was located only five blocks from the fire station.

3 Children Die in House Fire - Associated Press (11/16/2006)

GLASGOW, Ky. - Three children in south-central Kentucky died in a house fire that started in a clothes dryer, officials said.  Kaeden Zapata, 3, and twins Ryder and Makayella Zapata, 2, died Wednesday as a result of the early morning blaze in the Haywood community of Barren County - about 5 miles from Glasgow, Coroner Mike Swift said.  The fire was contained to the utility room, Haywood Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Hatcher told the Glasgow Daily Times.  It caused heavy smoke damage, he said.  The children's mother and a friend were at the home when the fire occurred, but escaped, Hatcher said.  A working fire alarm was sounding when firefighters arrived, Hatcher said. The mother, whose name wasn't released, had already gotten her children out of the house.  Neighbor Mary Scott said the mother woke her at around 2:30 a.m. CST.  "The neighbor next door came banging on the door and begging me to help her, her children weren't breathing," Scott told WBKO-TV.  Scott said she tried to help the mother give CPR to the children, but there was no response.

House blaze started by tumble dryer - By Hemelhempstead Today - UK (11/15/2006)

FIRE crews rushed to a home in Catlin Street last night where a tumble dryer had set alight.  A man and his 18-month-old daughter escaped the home unharmed.  Two Hemel Hempstead fire crews were called to the house at about 8.36pm.  They used breathing apparatus and a hose reel to put out the blaze, which was confined to a utility room.  The young tot was treated by paramedics on the scene for the effects of smoke inhalation.

Dryer blamed in fire that killed girls - By THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION (11/10/2006)

RICHFIELD TWP. - An improperly installed clothes dryer is blamed for the fire that killed two young sisters.  Samara White, 15, and Alexia VanCleve, 4, died when fire swept through their Carpenter Road home about 2 a.m. Tuesday.  Their mother, Tamara Shewmaker, escaped with her three other children, ages 9-14. The dryer was placed against the wall of that utility room and was not vented.  Dryer vents - typically flexible, aluminum foil-covered wire ducts - carry damp air out of the dryer to the outside.  But because Shewmaker's dryer wasn't vented and was pushed up against the wall, about 4 inches of lint built up behind it, Jaskulka said.  When the dryer heated as she used it early Tuesday, the lint ignited, and the fire spread to the wall.

Residents evacuated over explosion risk in dryer fire - By Suffolk Evening Star (11/8/2006)

IPSWICH ENGLAND, UK -- AROUND 30 residents from an Ipswich street had to be evacuated from their homes after a tumble dryer fire turned into a possible explosive site.  The incident happened in Whitworth Close and after firefighters were called to the scene at 4.20pm yesterday they realised the garage, which had the tumble dryer in, also contained cylinders for the welding profession.

13 Lose All in Blaze - By COLLEEN P. DUNN -- Bridgetown News (11/6/2006)

MILLVILLE -- The American Red Cross is asking for the public's assistance to help 13 dwellers displaced after a two-alarm blaze destroyed three apartments Saturday night.   The fire broke out around 6 p.m. in the 819-821 Archer Street duplex, said Firefighter Dean Inferrera. Both sides of the building were completely destroyed.   Inferrera said a faulty dryer was to blame for the fire on the 819 side, where the resident, David Redden, lived with his girlfriend and two children.  The families include children ranging from infants to teenagers who are now without a home.

Fire Blamed on Dryer - By Arroyo Grande Santa Maria Times (11/4/2006)

A clothes dryer was blamed Friday for the fire that destroyed a residence in the Mesa Dunes Mobile Home Estates park Wednesday, fire officials said.   The family that lived in the mobile home escaped uninjured but lost their home to the fast-moving blaze that erupted about 10 a.m.   The family cat died, according to the homeowner, Cathy Broyles.   Broyles, who had lived in the mobile home space 151 for the past 12 years, was doing laundry with her daughter that morning.   According to the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA), one out of 25 residential fires reported to U.S. fire departments in 1999-2000 involved a dryer or washer. The leading cause of these fires was failure to clean in and around the machine, officials said.

Lint in dryer vent chute started fire that destroyed house
- ByDanielle Gingerich LaPorte County Herald-Argus (10/27/2006)

HUSDON LAKE - Homeowners Julie and Greg Walenga lost their home after built-up lint in a dryer vent pipe caught fire, Julie told The LaPorte County Herald-Argus Thursday afternoon. The home was built 13 years ago and was valued at an estimated $150,000 to $175,000. “It’s all soot,” Julie said. “It’s all gone.” Eight fire departments responded: New Carlisle; Springfield, Kankakee, Clay and Warren townships; and LaPorte city from Indiana and Galien and Bertrand townships from Michigan. Everything inside the home was also lost.

Dryer Fire Displaces Family - By Malika Fraley CONTRA COSTA TIMES (10/03/2006)

CONCORD - A clothes dryer fire in the 800 block of St. John's Place on Monday displaced a Concord family and destroyed a garage. Contra Costa County Fire Department Battalion Chief David George said firefighters were called to the house at 8:30 a.m. on reports of the garage engulfed in flames. The fire was caused by an overfull lint trap in the family's clothes dryer, George said. A woman and young child were at home at the time and escaped the residence without injury prior to firefighters' arrival. The fire was brought under control in 30 minutes. St. John's Place was closed for an hour-and-a-half due to the incident. The fire caused an estimated $200,000 in damage to the garage, roof and attic. George called the fire "preventable," and said it serves as a reminder to lint trap fire hazards.

Dryer fire leaves home in ruins - By News 10 Now Syracuse (9/25/2006)

THERESA, NY -- A dryer caught fire this morning and destroyed a home in the town of Theresa.  When firefighters arrived on scene there was not much they could do to save the trailer.   One person was home when the fire started and called 911.  Fire officials are reminding people to practice fire safety.   Matt Woodward, Theresa Second Assistant Fire Chief, gave some advice on dryer safety, "One thing people don't think about is cleaning the lint traps out of their dryers or actually cleaning the lint hose.  It is a big thing and once that stuff catches on fire and you don't clean the thing out its kind of hard to control."   The trailer is a total loss.

Kent Home Gutted By Fire - By KIRO TV (9/22/2006)

KENT, Wash. -- Kent Firefighters responding to a call Friday morning found a double-wide mobile home completely engulfed in flames, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported. According to Capt. Kyle Ohashi of the Kent Fire Department, no one was home at the time of the blaze, except the family’s dog who perished in the fire. Eileen McClusky, who lived in the home with her son, had already left for work by the time someone reported the fire at about 8:30 a.m. Firefighters said the cause of the fire was a clothes dryer that overheated because a small animal had nested in the vent and blocked it.

Eight Left Homeless After Blaze - By SANDRA JOHNSON-BOHANNAN Bridgeton News (9/11/2006)

LAWRENCE TWP. -- A blaze that started in the dryer of a two-story Schaffer Avenue home displaced eight people Saturday evening, authorities said. No one was injured in the heavy fire that destroyed the laundry room and caused heavy smoke and heat damage throughout the home at 76 Schaffer Ave., according to Chief Bruce Conti of Cedarville Fire Department. "There's not much left of the dryer," Conti said. The fire was just starting to travel into the living room area of the house, via the doorway, when firefighters arrived, reports said. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 5:20 p.m. and the fire was under control in two hours. Newport and Fortescue fire departments, as well as Lawrence Township Emergency Medical Service, assisted at the scene. The Red Cross provided lodging for the family.

Fire Breaks Out At Vandalia Business - By WHIO-TV 7 (9/10/2006)

VANDALIA, Ohio -- A fire a broke out at a Vandalia buisness sending more than a dozen crews to the scene. The blaze broke out around 6 p.m. at the Cintas building on Center Drive near the Living World Church. A total of seven fire departments from Montgomery and Miami County responded. Firefighters said a dryer machine caught fire sending smoke theough the whole building. No one was hurt but there was extensive damage.

Clothes Dryer to Blame for Fire at Historic Home - By NBC News 25 (8/30/06)

FREDERICK COUNTY, MD -- The Maryland State Fire Marshal said a clothes dryer is to blame for a two-alarm blaze near New Market. Investigators said the laundry dryer sparked the fire on the 2nd floor of an old farm house on Baldwin Road around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. It took around 75 fire fighters nearly two hours to get the blaze under control. Crews were able to spare the kitchen, built in 1720, from major damage. The three-story stone addition built more than 150 years ago sustained the most damage. Early estimates put the total damage around $250,000. Investigators are calling the blaze accidental. No one was injured in the fire.
Reported by Adam Hudson

Clothes Dryer to Blame for Fire that Killed Pair on Father's Day - By Rocky Mountain News (6/28/06)

HOT SULFUR SPRINGS, CO -- A clothes dryer started a house fire that killed a Granby couple on Father's Day, the Grand County Sheriff's office said Tuesday.  The dryer, which had accumulated a significant amount of lint, was running when the blaze ignited early June 18, said Sgt. Leo Piechocki, the sheriff's fire investigator.  Mike Arnston, 54, and his girlfriend, Denise Young, 40, died in the fire.

27 dogs killed in East Manatee County kennel fire - By The Herald-Tribune (06/18/06)

MYAKKA CITY -- Twenty-seven dogs, most of them beagles, were killed in a fire early Saturday at a well-known breeder's kennel here in East Manatee. The breeder, Sharon D. Hodgdon, who runs Windsong Beagles, rescued more than a dozen dogs inside the kennel adjacent to her house in the 3000 block of Logue Road, authorities said. Myakka City fire officials believe the 27 dogs suffocated from smoke related to the fire, which started at about 1 a.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials think it is linked to a clothes dryer that is set up next to cages in the kennel.

Dryer vent cause of Canton blaze - By The Review (03/02/06)

CANTON - The fire Sunday that gutted a house at 28 Union St. in the borough started in the dryer vent in the basement of the home, said Kim Jennings, fire chief of the Canton Volunteer Fire Department. He said the finding was made by the state police fire marshal Wednesday. "We presume it was from lint buildup," he said. He said it was accidental. The home is owned by Joan Griffin; the fire displaced six people. It was reported at 2:04 p.m. Sunday. The 10-alarm fire drew several other fire departments that assisted at the scene. Three Canton firefighters sustained minor injuries.

Overstuffed lint trap in clothes dryer cause of fire - By Rockford Register Star (02/23/06)

LOVES PARK - A fire that destroyed a mobile home Monday night at Forest Hills Village trailer park was sparked by an overstuffed lint trap in a clothes dryer. Loves Park Fire Department arrived at the home in the 5100 block of Granite Street shortly after 9:30 p.m. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within 10 minutes using water from two engine tankers. Officials were unable to tap into nearby fire hydrants because the nearest hydrant was out of order and the next closest hydrant was frozen shut, said Fire Chief Phil Foley. A young woman and a dog who lived in the mobile home escaped safely. A damage estimate was not available. Foley said a clump of lint in the trap of a dryer inside the home ignited the blaze, which quickly spread to the carpet and walls.

Fire destroys habitat house - By Eric Weslander, LJWorld.com (01/24/06)

She couldn’t stop herself from crying Monday as she walked through her charred and smoke-damaged home in East Lawrence. Onechanh Rattanavongsy, a single mother of three, didn’t just live in the home at 1809 Atherton Court. She helped build it in 2002 through Habitat for Humanity, an agency that provides homes for low-income families. “I hit a lottery when I got this house,” she said. “This house is everything to me and my kids.” On Monday, insurance investigators were combing through the home. Rattanavongsy and her children — Austin, 9, Timothy, 5, and Destiny, 4 — were back where they started: staying at a trailer with one of her sisters. The fire started Sunday afternoon and was caused by a clogged dryer vent, Douglas County Fire & Medical officials said. Rattanavongsy said she left the dryer running near the end of its cycle and took her kids out to eat. A short time later, her sister called to tell her a neighbor had reported seeing the fire. Most of the ceilings and walls inside the home were either burned or colored black from smoke on Monday, and the only existing photo of Rattanavongsy’s deceased father had been burned off the wall, she said. Fire officials initially estimated the damage at $30,000, but Rattanavongsy said she’d been told it was somewhere between $60,000 and $80,000. One consolation for the family is that the home is fully insured.

Fire forces 11 patients from house - By ToledoBlade.com (01/17/06)

Eleven residents of a South Toledo group home for Alzheimer's patients were evacuated and a staff member was hospitalized for smoke inhalation after the vent of a laundry dryer caught fire yesterday. No residents were hurt, and little damage was caused to the house at 4226 Parkcliffe Lane, owned by Wayne Bucher. Fire officials estimated damage at $10,000, mainly smoke and water, to the laundry and basement areas of the two-story, frame house.Fire officials commended staff members for escorting patients out of harm's way when the fire was reported about 1:30 p.m.One staff member, Cynthia Tyson, was taken to the Medical University of Ohio Medical Center for smoke inhalation. Hospital officials had no information on Ms. Tyson last night.

 
2005 Dryer Fire Articles

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