Dryer Fire Articles (2007)

FORT MYERS BEACH, FL - A popular hotel on Fort Myers Beach was evacuated Sunday because of an early morning fire.  Guests and workers of the Lani Kai Hotel were evacuated around 3:35 a.m. after billowing smoke triggered the hotel's fire alarms.  When crews arrived from the Fort Myers Beach Fire Department, they determined that the fire started in a dryer in the hotel's second floor laundry room.  One person suffered from an ankle injury during the evacuation of the building.  No other injuries have been reported.

LAKE ZURICH, IL - A dog and two cats died and a family was displaced in a house fire caused by a clothes dryer vent system Thursday night.  Firefighters responded at 6:17 p.m. to a fire and saw smoke showing from the garage and rear of the house, according to a Lake Zurich Fire Department release.  pResidents of the home, who contacted authorities about the emergency, were able to safely escape and the four family members were checked at the scene for minor smoke inhalation, but were not hospitalized, the release said.  The house sustained fire damage to the first floor and garage, and heat and smoke damage to the second floor and basement.   The home was rendered uninhabitable, but a damage estimate was not immediately available.

MERIDEN, CT - Firefighters made a daring rescue Thursday night in Meriden after a fire broke out on Randolph Avenue.  The fire started in a clothes dryer and smoke quickly spread throughout the house.  Firefighters had to use a ladder to rescue a woman from the third floor. There were no injuries, but eight people have been displaced.

GAINESVILLE, GA - A Hall County home at 2964 Antioch Church Road received significant damage from a Christmas Eve blaze.  "Fire fighters arrived to find a 900-square foot structure with smoke showing from the back of the residence,"" says Fire Marshall Scott Cagle. "The fire appears to have originated from the back of the dryer."  "The house was valued at $40,000 with $20,000 damage," adds Cagle.

THORNHILL, ONTARIO, CANADA - Four dogs died in a Thornhill Veterinary Clinic fire late Sunday night.  The fire is believed to have started in the building's basement.  Firefighters found 10 dogs in the basement, four of whom have died.  Fire officials say a malfunctioning clothes dryer caused the fire.  Animals on the clinic's upper floors were taken to various York Region homes and shelters.  Damage is estimated at $50,000 at the clinic, located just west of Yonge St. on Centre St.

HOUSTON, TX - Smoke filled part of the Kegans State Jail near Buffalo Bayou in downtown Houston after a laundry dryer malfunctioned at about 5:45 a.m.  "The dryer caught on fire and produced a lot of smoke," said Houston Fire Department District Chief Leonard Mikeska.  "The guards did a good job of containing the fire and the inmates were in their cells and they were never in any danger."  No evacuation was necessary, Mikeska said.  One female guard who helped control the fire was being treated with oxygen at the scene and was not expected to be taken to a hospital, Mikeska said.

BURTONSVILLE, MD - Fire investigators said a fire that displaced about 40 people at an apartment building in the Burtonsville area Sunday was caused by an overheated dryer vent.  About 85 firefighters battled the wind-driven fire, which caused about $1 million in damage.  No injuries were reported.  The fire began in a third-floor apartment in the building in the 3900 block of Blackburn Lane, and the wind helped extend the fire to upper floors.

DENVER, CO - The locker room is a place where fires are sparked, but this was a little extreme.  A dryer caught fire in the Nuggets' locker room Sunday morning at 2 a.m., and the sprinkler system, soon followed by firemen and their hoses, doused the room with water.  The Nuggets were forced to use the opposing team's locker room for Sunday's game against Portland, while the Trail Blazers dressed in the locker room used by the Avalanche's opposing team.

ANN ARBOR, MI - An early morning load of laundry started a dryer fire in a unit of the Oakridge apartments in the 1300 block of Holmes Road, Ypsilanti Township firefighters said today.  Capt. Brad Johnson said firefighters were called to the apartment at 4:51 a.m., and were told a bedridden woman was still inside the apartment.  When they arrived, he said, there was light haze in the building, but the woman's daughter had doused the lint fire in the duct work with buckets of water.

BANGOR, ME - Fire crews removed an unconscious woman from the scene of a fire Monday afternoon that caused the evacuation of the Hammond Street apartment building where she lived.  The blaze apparently started in a clothes dryer in the woman’s first-floor apartment and spread to other parts of the building, Assistant Chief Scott Bostock said from the scene.  All five apartments in the building were evacuated.  "The smoke was pouring out the front of the building," neighbor Joe Carter, 60, said from the scene. "She was in there with a lot of smoke, but the cats got out."  The victim looked as if she had burns to her feet and lower extremities, and the cats were missing whiskers, Carter said.  The female victim’s first-floor apartment had fire, smoke and electrical damage mainly in the kitchen area, and the rest of the apartments had mostly smoke damage, Bostock said.

MIDDLESEX, VT - Fire crews from several central Vermont towns worked into the evening Saturday to battle a house fire at 7 Government Hill Road. The blaze destroyed the old home, which was being renovated by its new owners, who were not identified by fire officials.  No one was injured in the fire; the couple who owned the house escaped shortly after the initial call was made to 91 around 4:20 p.m. Firefighters at the scene said the blaze appeared to have started in a dryer.  When fire crews arrived, the house was fully engulfed.  Within an hour, the stubborn blaze still could be seen poking up through the roof and high dormers.  Thick smoke, visible from well down the darkened rural road, billowed from the house, as fire crews sprayed water on the house on all sides.

MELBOURNE, FL - A Rockledge police officer's family was burned out of their Orange Avenue home this morning when a dryer caught fire, Rockledge Fire Department officials said.  Investigator Greg Moore, his wife and three children got out of the house safely, but the $200,000 house they were renting was destroyed, said Rockledge Fire Department spokeswoman Lori Matson.  At 3 a.m. firefighters were still working on the fire, which had engulfed the home.  They left the dryer running when they went to bed, Matson said.  They heard popping noises and saw smoke coming from the laundry room and garage area, she said.

ZEELAND TOWNSHIP, MI - A clothes dryer fire caused smoke and fire damage to a mobile home in Logan Estates park off Riley Street.  "It go really hot in there really quickly," Zeeland Township Fire Chief Gordon VanHaitsma said.  The fire was mostly contained to the laundry room of the home, but heavy smoke damage was throughout the residence.  The homeowner escaped without harm.

CENTRAL FALLS, RI - Officials in Central Falls are ruling an overnight fire "accidental."  A dryer sparked in the basement of a home on Cowden Street around 1:30 Tuesday morning.  Two families sleeping inside were forced out into the freezing cold, and won't be able to return home for months.  Right now, The Red Cross is assisting the families.

VACAVILLE, CA - A dryer fire thought to have been doused Saturday in Vacaville instead blossomed inside a wall, reappearing an hour later with flames reaching through the second floor to the attic, fire officials said Sunday.  The 4 p.m. blaze destroyed the second floor of a residence in the 900 block of Mustang Trail, wreaked $150,000 in damage and displaced a family of six.  Apparently a man found the blaze in a dryer vent inside a wall and extinguished it.  An hour later, he found smoke in that room and flames inside the wall.  He called the fire department, which determined that the fire had destroyed the joists holding up the second floor and had climbed into the attic.  The fire was put out with the aid of fire crews from Vacaville District, California Medical Facility, Fairfield, Dixon and Suisun District.  Damage, reportedly caused by lint in a dryer duct that caught fire in a flue, was estimated at $100,000 to the structure and $50,000 in personal property.

RICHMOND, VA - One Henrico family is homeless after a fire destroyed their home on Squire Road yesterday.  Investigators say the fire started in a dryer on the basement level of this house and then spread, causing some damage to the upper floors.  Four people were inside at the time, but everyone got out safely.  One person was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

HARTFORD, VT - A fire in a stackable washer/dryer unit damaged a condominium unit in Hemlock Ridge, but residents of the affected building evacuated safely, fire officials said.  Marilyse de Boissezon Hamm discovered the fire in the dryer and dialed 911 to report it.  A smoke alarm sounded and her neighbor, after being notified of the fire, grabbed his fire extinguisher and shot the retardant into the laundry closet from the door before evacuating.  Fire Captain Raymond Bushey credited quick notification of the fire department and quick use of a fire extinguisher with limiting the fire and smoke damage.

FAR HILLS, NJ - A dryer fire today damaged at least three Far Hills townhouses, Far Hills-Bedminster fire fighter Brian Wilde said.  Police arrived and used a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze.  The fire re-ignited and set off the sprinkler system, Wilde said.  The sprinkler system prevented the blaze from spreading elsewhere in the townhouse, he said.  Moments later, fire fighters arrived and were able to extinguish the blaze with a hose, Wilde said.  The unit where the fire occurred, as well as adjoining units suffered water damage, he said.

LEXINGTON, KY - For the second time in as many days residents are forced out of their homes because of an apartment fire.  Investigators tell Action News 36 the fire started in the laundry room near the kitchen.  Fire fighters say the fire doesn't look suspicious and more than likely started in the dryer.

CHEEKTOWAGA, NY - A fire in a clothes dryer forced the evacuation of an Aspire facility on Losson Road Tuesday evening.  The fire, reported around 9:05 p.m., was contained mostly to the dryer and surrounding area by South Line firefighters.  All persons in the facility, formerly known as Western New York United Cerebral Palsy Association, were evacuated without injury.  Forks and Doyle firefighters were assisting at the scene.

PLATTEVILLE, CO - A late-night fire Sunday caused extensive damage to a Platteville garage, and the probable cause is a malfunctioning clothes dryer.  The fiire was reported at about 9:45 p.m. Sunday.  Platteville firefighter Russ Kissler said two cars inside the garage were destroyed, but the firefighters were able to stop the fire before it spread to the outsiide walls.  Kissler said 18 volunteer firefighters responded to fight the fire, and none was injured.

MURPHYS, CA - A clogged dryer vent has been listed as the cause of that Saturday fire at 350 Wyldewood Drive in Murphys.  CAL FIRE officials have found there was damage to the majority of the two story single family residence and the deck all due to lint from the dryer clogging the vent.  Eight engines and a water tender responded to that blaze at 4:56am.

COLUMBIA, SC - Fire officials say a Columbia house caught fire Saturday afternoon, causing several thousand dollars worth of damage but not injuring anyone inside.  Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins says the fire started at 2:20pm.  It took about 30 minutes to get the fire under control. Jenkins says the fire, which was started by a clothes dryer, caused about $75,000 in damage.  There were four people at home at the time the fire started, but Jenkins says everyone made it out safe.

CROYDON, ENGLAND - UK - Two fire engines from New Addington were called to a period cottage in Shirley yesterday when a faulty tumble dryer led to a fire in a cupboard. &nbnbsp;The under-stair cupboard was destroyed by the fire at the five bedroomed home in Pine Coombe.  A spokesman for New Addington fire station said there was also light water damage to the hallway following the fire which occurred at around 6.20pm.

ANTIOCH, CA - Firefighters quickly contained a one-alarm dryer fire to the garage of an Antioch home this afternoon.  Contra Costa firefighters responded to the blaze at 4859 Knollcrest Drive at 3:26 p.m., said Battalion Chief Tim Palmer.  The owner called in the fire and escaped the two-story home without injury.  The fire originated in the garage dryer due to lint build-up, Palmer said. The chief estimated damages at $30,000 to the structure and $20,000 to its contents, mostly due to significant smoke damage to the house.

STOUGHTON, MA - A clothes dryer may have started a two-alarm fire today that heavily damaged the basement of a home at 258 Central St., firefighters said.  A family of five got out of the ranch-style home uninjured, firefighters said.  Flames were showing through the basement windows when firefighters arrived shortly after receiving a 911 call at 6:24 a.m.  The blaze was confined to the basement and under control within 30 minutes, Deputy Fire Chief Mark Dolloff said. Other parts of the building were damaged by smoke.  A preliminary investigation indicated that the fire may have been sparked by a clothes dryer, which was running at the time, Dolloff said.

SHEBOYGAN, WI - A fire that started in a dryer this morning did $4,000 damage to a north-side home but injured no one, according to the Sheboygan Fire Department.  Wanda Williams noticed a strange odor coming from the basement about 7:45 a.m. and went downstairs to discover towels in her dryer were on fire, said Shift Commander Jeff Hermann.  Thick black smoke was coming from the front door and basement windows by the time firefighters arrived, Hermann said.  The dryer was destroyed, and the home sustained smoke damage throughout, Hermann said.

HAGERSTOWN, MD - An appliance sparked a fire that damaged a Washington County house this week, the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Western Regional Office said.  The fire started at about 6 p.m. Sunday when a buildup of lint in a dryer’s vent pipe ignited in a house in Maugansville, Deputy Chief State Fire Marshal Jason Mowbray said in a news release.  The lint fire then spread to nearby combustibles in the crawl space, Mowbray said.  Allowing lint to build up or keeping flammable materials too close to dryers is a common cause of fires, Mowbray said.  He recommends checking the lint collector on the dryer each time it is used and periodically moving the dryer and disconnecting the vent pipe to make sure there isn’t any lint built up inside.

CHARLESTON, SC - A dryer appears to be the cause of a house fire in West Ashley that left a family homeless over the weekend.  The fire destroyed the home on Evergreen Street on Sunday.  It took firefighters more than 15-minutes to put out the flames.  Nobody was hurt but firefighters say there's extensive smoke damage.

RIVERSIDE, OH - A Riverside family tried to dry a load of clean laundry and started a fire.  The family was home at the time and saw smoke coming from the laundry room.  Fire investigators said the dryer had caught fire.  Fire officials said everyone managed to get out of the house safely.  They said there was a lot of smoke in the basement.  Firefighters had to ventilate the house to the get the smoke out.  Damage to the structure is estimated at $15,000.

CHEVY CHASE, MD - About 700 occupants of an apartment and office building in Chevy Chase were evacuated early this morning after a fire set off two fire alarms.  No evacuees were injured, but two firefighters suffered minor injuries, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services. A dryer caught fire around 3:30 a.m.  Firefighters responded to two alarms and found smoke traveling to upper floors of the 16-story mixed office and residential building.  Damage to the building was estimated at $400,000 according to Fire and Rescue officials.

PLAINSBORO, NJ - A dryer fire filled a Tennyson Drive house with smoke, rendering it uninhabitable leaving its family homeless Tuesday, officials said.  When firefighters and EMS units arrived at the Plainsboro home, they discovered it filled with heavy smoke that emanated from the laundry room.  A clothes dryer caught on fire.  The dwelling's occupants safely escaped the smoke and flames without injury, police said.  The single family home was ruled at least temporarily uninhabitable because of smoke contamination and a pending investigation of the gas and electric services.

MILAN, MI - The home of a Milan family was heavily damaged when a laundry room fire tore through it Saturday morning, Milan fire officials said.  Firefighters responded to the home on the 16000 block of Sherman Road, said Bob Stevens, assistant fire chief. No one in the family of seven was injured, Stevens said, but the house is uninhabitable. A dryer in the laundry room is the suspected cause of the fire.

SHEBOYGAN, WI - A dryer fire on the city's south side Wednesday night filled a house with smoke but did no damage to the home and injured no one, according to the Sheboygan Fire Department.  The fire was reported about 9:50 p.m. at 2925 S. 15th St., Shift Commander Jeff Hermann said in a press release.  A build-up of lint inside the machine is believed to have caused the fire, Hermann said. The damage to the dryer is about $500.

HACKETTSTOWN, PA - A clothes dryer ignited a small fire Tuesday night in the rear of a Maple Avenue home, town police report.  Patrolman Brian Ficarra was on patrol when he noticed smoke about 6:50 p.m.  He checked and fount the rear of the Lucero residence on fire.  Ficarra radioed the fire to dispatchers and then evacuated the house, police said.  Town police Sgt. James Macaulay and Patrolman Sean Stone extinguished the fire using two garden hoses.  Hackettstown Rescue Squad members checked the homeowner, who declined medical treatment, police said.

SPRINGFIELD, MA - A dryer fire on the city’s south side Wednesday night filled a house with smoke but injured no one, according to the Sheboygan Fire Department.  The fire was reported about 9:50 p.m. at 2925 S. 15th St., Shift Commander Jeff Hermann said in a press release.  A build-up of lint inside the machine is believed to have caused the fire, Hermann said.  Hermann said 12 firefighters responded to put out the fire and vent smoke from the home.

SPRINGFIELD, MA - A cellar fire, caused by a plastic dryer vent loaded with lint, caused some $10,000 in damages last night.  Nobody was injured or displaced in the blaze which was reported at 35-37 Sycamore St., shortly after 10:30 p.m., fire department spokesman Dennis G. Leger said.  The property is owned by Victoria Ford, Leger said.

DAMARISCOTTA, ME - Fire at a West Alna Road home in Wiscasset started in a dryer vent hose on Saturday night, but thanks to quick response from local firefighters and mutual aid, the fire was confined to the washer-dryer room.  Asst. Fire Chief John Merry said fire got onto the floor a bit and there was a lot of smoke at the Wahl residence.  “There was minimal damage, but there would have been a lot more if the owners had not been home,” Merry said.  Dryer fires are becoming a common occurrence and could very easily avoided by taking precautions, he said.

TUCSON, AZ - A fire in South Tucson destroyed a laundry room and damaged a house and two cars Monday morning, causing some $9,000 in damage, South Tucson's fire chief said.  A man and his wife who were in the home escaped without injury and none of 16 firefighters from the South Tucson and Tucson fire departments was hurt, said Fire Chief Larry Anderson.  The fire was caused by a clothes dryer in a detatched laundry room about 10 feet from the house, Anderson said.  Radiant heat damaged the house and two nearby cars.

SAINT LOUIS, MO - A blaze severely damaged a condominium near St. Peters and temporarily displaced several families living in the same building last night.  Diane Proffitte, 55, had been asleep on her couch shortly after 6 p.m. when she woke up to cracking and popping sounds, said Steve Brown, assistant chief of Central County Fire & Rescue.  She found a fire in the laundry room, and dialed 911.  The unit had $50,000 in damages.  Officials suspect that the fire began in the dryer.

QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA - Noosa fire crews managed to contain a fire in the laundry of a Noosaville unit.  Three crews - two from Noosa and another from Tewantin - raced to the Weyba Road unit at 9.49am in response to a report of a clothes dryer on fire.  Firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading beyond the dryer, but the blaze produced lots of black smoke.  It is the third house fire to have started in a laundry in recent months.

SAN JOSE, CA - Three adults and two children were displaced after a single-alarm fire broke out Monday night in a mobile home, officials said.  At 11:24 p.m., firefighters responded to reports of a fire in the Village of the Four Seasons mobile home park.  Firefighters had the flames under control by 1:03 a.m. today.  Initial reports indicate that the fire was triggered by a clothes dryer in the mobile home and does not appear to be suspicious, the dispatcher said.

WACO, TX - A dryer fire forced the evacuation of a Waco apartment building Monday.  Fire investigators said smoke from a fire inside a dryer activated the building's sprinkler system, flooding several apartments.  The resident of the unit where the fire started arrived home just in time to help alert other residents.  “It was just, right when I got there, just huge fire, just coming out of it, spilling out of it, and right after that I just knocked on everybody's door and all I had to grab was [the dog]," resident Alexandra Moore said.

KATY, TX - Katy Independent School District officials took a "better safe-than-sorry" approach when news of a fire at Mayde Creek High School broke out Monday morning.  At approximately 10 a.m., a fire started in a dryer located in the high school's athletic area.  The school was evacuated of all students and personnel while the fire department was called.  The fire was contained to the single dryer despite giving out a “lot of smoke” according to a KISD official, and was quickly exstinguished.

KANKAKEE, IL - A dryer fire in a laundry room filled the second floor of the Larsen Building at Olivet Nazarene University with smoke this morning.  Bourbonnais firefighters were paged to the fire at 10:22 a.m. and arrived three minutes later.  Employees put out the fire with extinguishers, according to firefighters.  Ventilation was required to clear the smoke.  Two employees were treated at the scene and released.  The amount of damages is unknown, according to firefighters.

KATY, TX - Students at a Katy high school were forced out of their classrooms when a fire broke out Tuesday, KPRC Local 2 reported. Katy Independent School District officials Mayde Creek High School was evacuated when a fire started in a dryer in the athletic area.  The fire was contained to the athletic area and quickly extinguished.

HAZARD, KY - A Garrard County family is safe after a fire broke out in their trailer early Monday morning.  Firefighters were called to the trailer on Rhodus Way off Kentucky 1295 just before 1:00 a.m. in Paint Lick.  A woman says her dryer caught on fire, spreading throughout the home.  Firefighters say five people were inside at the time and all got out because of the smoke detector.

SALINA, KS - A woman and her young son escaped unhurt Monday morning as their mobile home in north Salina filled with smoke from a fire that started in a clothes dryer, Salina firefighters said.  Alma Garcia, 36, was doing laundry when she smelled smoke, said Jeff Daily of the Salina Fire Department.  Garcia and her son left the home and she called 911 dispatchers from her cell phone.  Firefighters arrived to find heavy black smoke pouring out of the home.

GREENFIELD, IN - Greenfield firefighters rushed to Greenfield-Central High School after a clothes dryer caught fire around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday.  Students were safely evacuated from the school, and firefighters quickly extinguished the flames.  No injuries were reported. Principal Steve Bryant said it was hard to tell the extent of the damage in that area.  The smell of smoke was strong after the blaze was extinguished.

SAN JOSE, CA - An early morning one-alarm fire displaced five people today when a blaze ignited in the garage and extended into their home.  The flames were first reported at 6:57 a.m. and firefighters responded, Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhoumen said.  Five fire engines and a ladder truck arrived at the home and had the flames under control by 7:10 a.m.  "It appears that the fire started in the dryer," Schapelhoumen said.  The fire caused an estimated $50,000 in structural damage and $20,000 worth of damage to the home's contents, Schapelhoumen said.

LAUDERHILL, FL - Clogged Lint Filter In Dryer May Have Caused Fire  More than three dozen retirement home residents were temporarily relocated after a fire in their building.  Thirty-nine residents have been relocated to another retirement home nearby while clean up begins at the Retirement Life Center.  "This is why sprinklers are so important," Lauderhill fire-rescue Lt. Jeff Levy said.  "A fire at 5:30 a.m. could have led to injury or death from smoke inhalation in a building this size."

BEND, OR - A dryer caught fire at the Humane Society of Central Oregon on Sunday, causing an estimated $25,000 damage, but a sprinkler system contained the blaze before fire crews arrived.  A lint buildup was the most likely cause, firefighters said.  No injuries were reported. Capt. Harold Springs said an investigation found the most probable cause of the fire was a buildup of lint and debris on and around the dryer motor, causing it to overheat and ignite the debris.  The fire captain reminded everyone to keep lint traps clean, and to check and clean all areas of dryers, including the discharge hose, several times a year.

HAMPDEN, ME - A fire in a clothes dryerfilled the Super 8 Motel in Peru with smoke, forcing guests to evacuate for more than an hour.  Night supervisor Rae Smith said she smelled smoke and found it coming from a dryer in a first-floor laundry room.  Peru police and firefighters responded at 9:51 p.m.  Dense smoke forced people outside.

HAMPDEN, ME - A mobile home on North County Road burned to the ground after a dryer fire apparently got out of control.  Homeowner Marcia Young inhaled smoke and was transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for treatment, but was expected to be released, her brother-in-law Dana Jordan, 34, of Bangor said.  At the scene of the fire, Jordan said he was doing laundry at Tim and Marcia Young’s home when Marcia Young said she smelled smoke coming from the dryer.  The assistant fire chief urged people who use clothes dryers regularly to make sure their dryer vents and hoses aren’t clogged. Most dryer fires start because vents are clogged with lint, he said.

SIOUX FALLS, SD - Five Sioux Falls Fire Rescue units with 18 personnel responded to a fire at the Sioux Falls Humane Society Tuesday night.  Units were dispatched to 3720 East Benson Road at 9:50 p.m. for a smoke alarm going off.  When units arrived on the scene they reported smoke in the building.  The bedding materials in a dryer were on fire in the laundry room.  The back hallway was filled with smoke, but fire damage was contained to the interior of the dryer.  No animals were injured in the incident.

TOMS RIVER, NJ - A home was destroyed Monday afternoon by a fire that appears to have been started by a clothes dryer, police said. The fire, which started around 4 p.m., also damaged the exteriors of homes adjacent to 3167 Sterling Drive, Sgt. Michael Brosnan said.  Officers evacuated neighboring homes because of heavy smoke conditions.  The resident's 911 call indicated that she thought the fire started in the dryer, said Brosnan, who said that preliminary investigation confirms it most likely started in the laundry area.

REDDING, CA - A late Sunday night fire that started in a clothes dryer caused about $20,000 in damage to a Loma Street house and garage, said an official with the Redding Fire Department.  The fire, which spread from the dryer to shelves above it, burned through a breezeway that connected the house to an outdoor garage.  It eventually spread to part of the house's attic and portions of the garage.

ST. ALBANS, ME - A mother and daughter are homeless after a fire caused by a dryer destroyed their home, St. Albans Fire Chief David I. Crocker said.  Crocker said the home, a wood structure less than five years old, was too far gone to be saved.  He said an investigator from the Fire Marshal's office determined that a faulty dryer caused the fire.  Crocker said the machine had apparently been left on.  "I've been to too many dryer fires," he said.  "I turn it off myself before I go somewhere.  I'd rather leave the clothes wet."  Crocker said firefighters did not find evidence of the family's cats.

SCRANTON, PA - A dryer fire ripped through a mobile home in Luzerne County Sunday night.  A teenage girl was in the home when the fire started about 10 p.m.  She got out safely but the home and nearly everything inside were destroyed. The girl, who wasn't identified, lived in the home with her father.  He is in the hospital in Hershey.  The girl is staying with relatives.

COLUMBIA, MO - A commercial clothes dryer caught on fire early today at a residential care facility and caused about $20,000 in damage, the Columbia Fire Department said.  Enough heat was generated by the fire to activate a single sprinkler head.  Only one resident was displaced because of a water leak, the news release said.  The fire was contained to the laundry room, but water damage occurred in another area because of the failure of a water pipe.

DANBURY, CT - A fire that started in a dryer vent ignited the roof at the Hub Plaza, sending billows of dark smoke skyward and forcing the evacuation of several businesses.  "For a few minutes, it looked spectacular," Bethel Fire Chief Pete Holmberg said.  But once firefighters got onto the roof, they quickly knocked the flames down.  Holmberg said the fire apparently started in a dryer vent for the Hub Tub Laundromat, which is in the middle of the plaza, and the flames ignited the flammable roofing material.  Several businesses, including the laundry, remained closed after firefighters left the scene.

NORTHHAMPTON, UK - Firefighters were called to a house fire in Offord Cluny after a tumble dryer overheated.  The incident saw severe damage caused to the room and smoke damage to the rest of the house.  The family only had one smoke alarm in the house and were alerted by firefighters that they should have a working smoke alarm on each floor.

REDDITCH, UK - A FAMILY was saved from possible death after an heroic man used a ladder to get them out of their burning home in Woodrow.  The ground floor of a house in Cropthorne Close caught fire after a tumble dryer overheated on Sunday.  Upstairs was a mother with her two teenage children and another teenager who was visiting.  Simon Guy, who lives in nearby Bushley Close, became aware of the fire and got out a ladder that he propped up next to a window of the house so those inside could get out.

NATIONAL CITY, CA - A 14-year-old boy and his 75-year-old neighbor were credited for extinguishing a house fire Thursday morning ahead of firefighters.  Jordy Vazquez, 14, first noticed the fire behind a dryer in the laundry room and told his mom to “get out.”  He grabbed a small fire extinguisher and sprayed it at the flames.  Vazquez's neighbor, Manuel Ramos, grabbed a second extinguisher and sprayed it, and Vazquez tried a third extinguisher.  All the extinguishers spurted briefly and ran out, without smothering the flames.  Vazquez and Ramos then ran out the back door and grabbed a garden hose and together used it to douse the flames.  They put it out just before firefighters arrived.  The fire caused about $5,000 damage in the laundry room, said Batallion Chief Randall James of the National City Fire Department. He said, it was caused by lint clogging the dryer's vent.

ESCANABA, MI - An early morning fire damaged an Escanaba home Thursday morning.  According to authorities, the blaze was reported around 1:30 a.m.  The blaze started in the basement, and fire damage was contained to that area and a small portion of the first floor.  There is smoke damage through the home, but all of the occupants got out because they were alerted by a smoke detector.  The fire is believed to have started in a dryer vent.

TIPTON, IA - A fire, which began in a clothes dryer, destroyed a home southeast of Mechanic-sville and sent one person to the hospital for smoke inhalation.  Tipton Fire Chief John Miller said Jessica Massey, 20, was taken to Mercy hospital in Iowa City by the Tipton ambulance. Two other people inhaled smoke and were examined at the scene.  Miller said the home was a total loss.

CHRISTIANSBURG, OH - Authorities said a firefighter was injured overnight as he was preparing to put out a house fire.  Firefighters in Christiansburg were called to a house on Route 235 around 11 p.m. Monday.  While they were setting up a water line to put the fire out, one of the firefighters was hit by a passing car.  The firefighter was taken to Mercy Hospital in Springfield with non-life-threatening injuries. Firefighters said the fire started in a dryer in the house.

CHISWICK, UK - A woman wearing breathing apparatus was led to safety by firefighters last week after a fire started in the communal area below her flat.  Fire crews were called to the blaze at a house converted into flats in Bath Road, Chiswick, at 11.45pm.  Firefighters rescued the woman by taking her down an internal staircase wearing breathing apparatus.  She was suffering from smoke inhalation and was treated at the scene by London Ambulance Service crews.  An investigation revealed the fire started in the extractor fan of the homeowner's tumble dryer.  A ball of fluff which was stuck in a plastic pipe coming from the fan overheated and caught fire.

OVERISEL TOWNSHIP, MI - A clothes dryer fire that escalated out of control destroyed a ranch-style home Friday.  The homeowners managed to escape the burning home without harm and watched firefighters battle the blaze from their yard as family gathered to offer comfort.  Firefighters from Overisel Township, Hamilton and Graafschap fought the 6:30 p.m. fire.  Overisel Township Fire Chief Ron Horsting, who said flames were showing through windows when firefighters arrived, estimated the loss at $175,000.

SHEBOYGAN, WI - A reported house fire south of Elkhart Lake this morning chased residents from the home, according to the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department.  The fire, at N7342 Birch Point Drive, was limited to a clothes dryer in the basement, said Sgt. Bradley Jorsch.  Several residents were home at the time, but escaped safely when the basement began filling up with smoke, officials said.

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, OH - Some fire victims in Springfield Township have their neighbors to thank for helping them get out of their burning mobile home.  Firefighters tell us the flames started in a clothes dryer, and spread quickly.  When neighbors saw the flames, they ran over to help.  They were able to get the mobile home's residents, including eight children and a cat, out safely.  Then they attacked the fire, using a garden hose and fire extinguisher until firefighters arrived.  A neighbor suffered minor burns to his face.

NORWOOD, MA - A dryer fire in the laundry room of a nursing home resulted in a significant amount of smoke damage to the building yesterday afternoon, but left patients and staff uninjured, according to fire officials.  The fire at The Ellis Rehabilitation & Nursing Center was reported to 911 at 5:14 p.m. and was extinguished about 15 minutes after the arrival of firefighters, officials said.  “The fire was confined to a dryer,” said Fire Chief Michael Howard. “Two workers (of the nursing home) were evaluated by EMS, but were not transported.”  He said there was a significant amount of smoke damage but did not have an estimate in dollars for that damage.  “These types of facilities are considered high life hazards,” Howard said. “The minute you add smoke to that, it can become very dangerous.”

EL PASO, TX - A Lower Valley family was lucky to make it out of their burning house in time following a dryer fire at 10 p.m. Sunday.    The fortunate thing is that they were awake at the time, so they heard the sound of the fire and were able to evacuate.  But if this would have been when they were asleep, the story would have been a lot different.  While the man and woman living in the home got out without any injuries, they couldn't find their two pet chihuahua's anywhere.  "There was concern, because they have two family dogs that were inside the house, El Paso Fire Department spokesman John Concha said. Fire crews were able to rescue both of them. There appears to be no injuries to the dogs."  Yet, there was $40,000 dollars in damage to the home.

CENTERVILLE, MA - Centerville, Osterville, Marstons Mills (COMM) Fire received a 911 call of a fire in house around noon Friday.  The occupants returned to find smoke coming from their home.  Firefighters put out a fire in the dryer that had slightly extended beyond the appliance, causing smoke to build up in the house.  The fire was extinguished within 15 minutes and crews ventilated the home while the family waited outside.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Once outside their smoke-filled house this morning, David and Jackie Perrin -- holding two young grandsons -- thought everyone got out.  "I said, 'Where's Becka?'" her father said, referring to their 18-year-old daughter.  Unable to see through the smoke, David Perrin made his way back through his Southwest Side home, toward his daughter's second-floor bedroom.  He found her trying to get out the window of another room, then pulled her out of the house.  Both were treated for smoke inhalation, but were otherwise OK, said Perrin. The fire started in the basement dryer, and ignited a pile of clothes.  Firefighters estimated damage at $15,000 to the house and contents.

TRENTON, NJ - A woman and her four children escaped uninjured after a fire broke out in their Summer Street home.  Fire Battalion Chief Greg Gore said the blaze was caused by an excessive amount of lint that clogged the exhaust vent of the home's clothes dryer.  The lint heated up until it ignited.  Flames then spread to the clothes in the dryer and then to the woodwork of the kitchen utility closet where the dryer was located, he said.  Firefighters used fans to remove smoke from the house and cleaned up the damage sufficiently for residents to be able to remain in the house, Gore said.

TEMPE, AZ - A fire in a dryer sparked $80,000 in damage to a home in north Tempe Saturday night.  No one was at home at the time of the blaze.  Lint in the dryer's vents appear to be responsible for the blaze, said Phil Rohe, a senior fire inspector with the Tempe Fire Department.  The homeowner left the dryer running but returned because she had forgotten something, Rohe said.  By that time, neighbors had already reported the blaze to a 9-1-1 operator.

ALLENTOWN, PA - Allentown firefighters rescued nine people, including seven children, today from the second and third floors of an apartment on Washington Street after a fire began in the only room that had an access to downstairs.  Allentown Fire Marshal Rick Anewalt said a dryer caught on fire in a second-floor room.  The people who lived on the second and third floor were a pair of sisters and their children, who ranged in age from 6 to 17, Anewalt said.  Anewalt said the fire was quickly extinguished, taking about as long as it took for firefighters to get ladders up to the second floor and rescue the families.

HUNTINGTON ENGLAND, UK - A family had to be re-homed after a tumble dryer caught on fire.  The residents had been out at the time but, although crews managed to contain the fire to the tumble dryer and utility room, the whole house was said to have been left badly smoke-damaged and the occupants have had to be re-homed.  Firefighter Martin Ockenden, who attended the blaze, said: "Crews were alerted to the fire by an alarm in the house and luckily a neighbour had a spare key so crews could gain access.  It could have been a lot worse."

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - A metro woman is recovering on Monday after 15 percent of her body was covered in first-degree burns. Firefighters said her clothes dryer caused her home to go up in flames.  The fire quickly spread into the home's attic because the dryer was improperly ventilating into the attic instead of to the outside.  Firefighters had to work in 15-minute shifts to keep from getting heat exhaustion.

NIAGARA FALLS, NY - At 12:57 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to a reported structure fire in the 1800 block of Niagara Avenue. Firefighters quickly determined that the fire was in the basement and began deploying hoselines, while other department members searched the residence for any occupants.  The fire was confined to the dryer, which had become clogged with lint and ignited.  Dense smoke filled the entire home, but fire damage was confined to the lower level.

WESTPORT, CT - Firefighters tonight quickly doused flames in a clothes dryer at Westport Health Care--the fourth fire in five months at the elderly health care facility.  The fire department said it received an automatic alarm from the 110-bed facilityat about 6:45 p.m.  While firefighters were en route, a staff member dialed 911 to report a fire in a clothes dryer in the laundry room.  First arriving firefighters found a smoke condition in the first floor hallway with a blinding cloud of smoke and dry chemical extinguishing powder in the laundry room, said Assistant Chief Gene Maloney.  Firefighters shut off electric power to the dryer and used extinguishers to quench its smoldering contents.

ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND - Mereana Tuari had her pyjamas on and was having a nap in her bedroom when she woke to hear a crackling noise.  The Wallace Cres resident knew straight away the noise was coming from her laundry and the dryer, which had been on.  The dryer had caught fire.  "By the time I got to the back door, the flames were shooting out at me. I was so frightened."  The laundry, kitchen and hall were destroyed.

EASTHAM, MA - Clothes in a dryer caught fire yesterday at the Town Crier Motel, according to a fire official.  The fire occurred at around 4:30 p.m. and was contained to the dryer, which was an older model, Eastham fire Capt. Steve Burns said.  The clothes were removed and extinguished.  The fire filled the basement and office with smoke, according to Burns.  Firefighters ventilated the building and evaluated three people for smoke inhalation, he said.

BEAUMONT, TX - An apartment was reported to have a fire.  The cause of this fire was the clothes dryer.  The fire was confined to the area of the dryer, but smoke did travel throughout the apartment.  The occupants were not injured in the incident and were able to escape.

MANHEIM, PA - A one-alarm fire filled an apartment building with smoke in Manheim this morning.  Assistant Fire Chief Duane Ober of the Manheim Fire Company said the fire was caused by a clothes dryer in the basement.  No injuries were reported, and the fire was under control by 1:08 a.m.  Ober said most of the damage was caused by smoke.  Minor physical damage to the walls of the basement was also reported.  "Most of the costs will be cleanup," Ober said.

MODESTO, CA - Turlock firefighters battled a fire that heavily damaged a detached garage Wednesday, said Battalion Chief Tim Lohman. The fire was started by lint in a clothes dryer, according to the Fire Department.  When firefighters arrived, heavy black smoke and flames were coming off the structure.  Firefighters controlled the fire in about 20 minutes.

MIAMI, FL - Dozens of rescue workers successfully evacuated a four-story West Kendall apartment building late Monday when a dryer caught on fire.  Firefighters put out the blaze within minutes, but residents were stuck outside their homes for two hours as a hazmat team was called to scan the area for dangerous chemicals that may have been released.  According to residents, the fire was probably caused by large dust deposits behind the rarely-cleaned machines on the fourth floor.

BAINBRIDGE, GA - About 11:45 Monday night, Public Safety responded to a house fire at 1006 Powell Street.  When they arrived they found smoke pouring from the doors and what looked to be the attic area of the house.  Assistant Fire Chief James Brock stated that it was a fire in the dryer.  When he arrived the resident told him she had tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher.  A few anxious minutes later she was told the fire had not spread.  There was no fire damage to the home but the smoke damage was extensive.

CINCINNATI, OH - Firefighters rescued a homeowner and four dogs from a burning house Monday in Westwood.  Firefighters responded at 11:15 a.m. and found a basement fire in a two-story, brick, two-family building, the Cincinnati Fire Department said.  An overheated dryer caused the fire, which did an estimated $10,000 damage, the fire department said.

MARION, IN - A fire at 8:50 a.m. Monday at Shady Brook Mobile Home Park that destroyed a mobile home was caused by improper dryer ventilation, Marion firefighter Paul David said.  David, one of the emergency workers who responded to the fire, said the trailer was a total loss, but everyone inside was able to escape the blaze.  Though the home was equipped with a smoke detector, it did not work.  A child living in the home alerted family members to the smoke, David said.  Firefighters were unable to save the building because it was already engulfed when they arrived at the scene.

YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories, Canada - A fire broke out at the Centre for Northern Families last Friday morning, believed to have started in a clothes dryer.  Firefighters were on the scene very quickly, and the blaze was extinguished before it did any serious harm, however there was significant water damage.  The centre's receptionist, Maria Carlos Hajcik, said that the staff were lucky, there were no children in the house at the time and they had just rehearsed fire drills about a week prior to the incident.  Firefighter Dave Sundberg was impressed with the centre's staff, saying that their speedy evacuation of about 30 people helped the fire crew to focus on putting out the fire as soon as they had been given the all clear to indicate that everyone was out.

RENO, NV - A Reno motel was the scene of a fire Saturday evening, forcing many of the employees and guests to evacuate.  According to authorities on the scene, a dryer caught fire because of lint buildup, which set the laundry room ablaze.  The fire spread into the second floor but officials tell KOLO 8 most of the damage was located in the laundry room.

LEMON TWP, OH - A clothes dryer sparked a three-alarm fire in a first-floor laundry room in a single-family home on Oxford-State Road Tuesday afternoon, said Monroe fire officials Thursday.  The dryer in the home was operating prior to the fire, Neu said.  When firefighters responded smoke and flames could be seen shooting from the rear of the home, which had no working smoke detectors, said Monroe Assistant Fire Chief John Centers.  Two adults and two children were home when the fire started, but got out safely, Centers said.  The fire destroyed the home and caused an estimated $50,000 damage to the rental property, Neu said.

DANVILLE, VA - A laundry room fire caused a scare at the Danville City Jail early Thursday afternoon.  At about 1:19 p.m., firefighters responded to the city jail after a report of a dryer catching on fire.  According to fire crews at the scene, the blaze may have been sparked by lint building up in the dryer which ignited.  The fire created a lot of smoke in the laundry room and many adjacent and nearby rooms.  The blaze was mostly contained to the dryer itself but did cause smoke damage to the laundry room and nearby rooms.

SANTA MARIA, CA - Twelve elderly people were evacuated Wednesday night from an assisted living facility in Nipomo where a fire broke out in a clothes dryer, a Cal Fire official said.  No one was injured in the fire, which was contained to the dryer but caused smoke damage throughout (estimated at $12,000) the inside of 1688 Quiet Oaks Drive around 7:15 p.m., said Capt. Greg Alex.

WEST PELZER, SC - A Tuesday morning fire in West Pelzer did about $50,000 in damage to a one-story residence and left a family homeless.  West Pelzer Fire Chief Dale Mahaffey said firefighters from his station and those from Wren and Piedmont, also in Anderson County, responded about 10:15 a.m. to smoke and fire at the home.  “We had to cut a hole in the roof to ventilate the fire,” Chief Mahaffey said. “There was fire in the entire attic.”  The home’s interior and most of its contents were heavily damaged, he said.  The fire was traced to a dryer’s vent, Chief Mahaffey said. The blaze spread to the kitchen and up a wall into the attic, he said.

WOOSTER, OH - Up a short landscaped driveway lined with decorative sandstone is a smoldering foundation that once supported Glen and Tina Geog's dream home.  The house took about 18 months to build, beginning in 2001, Tina Geog said.  The Geogs designed the house and installed much of the woodwork on their own.  The fire was reported at about 8:15 p.m. and drew firefighters from Glenmont, Western Holmes, Danville and Killbuck departments.  The 2,000-square-foot house and an attached garage were consumed in the blaze.  The fire is reported to have started in a clothes dryer.  When asked what was lost in the fire, Glen Geog just shook his head. "Everything burned. It's up in smoke," he said.

FOLSOM, CA - A dryer fire damaged a Folsom home early Monday, fire officials said.  The owner of the house told authorities she put a load of laundry in the dryer before going to sleep.  A blaze, which was reported at about 2 a.m., spread to the attic which suffered extensive damage.  Officials said dryer fires are common but can be prevented with proper maintenance and cleaning of vents.

WILMINGTON, DE - A smoke detector is being credited with alerting a sleeping teenager that there was a fire in his home near New Castle today, state fire officials said.  The blaze broke out about 2 p.m. at a home in the Jefferson Farms development.  An investigation determined the fire started in a clothes dryer, engulfing the dryer in flames and igniting nearby furnishings, Chionchio said.  A 14-year-old boy, who was asleep in a first-floor bedroom, was awakened by the sound of the smoke detector and was able to flee the home safely.  Damage was estimated at $25,000.

KALAMAZOO, MI - A fire forced officials to briefly close the Kalamazoo County Family YMCA on West Maple Street Wednesday.  A fire that started in a dryer in the men's locker room at about 9:45 a.m. was quickly brought under control by Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety firefighters, said Phil Carter, chief executive officer of the Kalamazoo County Family YMCA.  No one was injured. The building was evacuated for about an hour and the dryer was removed from the building, according to Carter.

CINCINNATI, OH - No one was injured this morning when a dryer fire in a laundry room prompted the evacuation of the Extended Stay Hotel on Kenwood Road.  Firefighters responded to fire alarm at 4:28 a.m., and upon arrival were advised of a fire in the laundry room, Fire Lt. Lou Ernstes said this morning.  The 150-200 people in the hotel were evacuated, and no one was injured, Ernstes said.  Damage, which was confined to the dryer, was estimated at $4,000.

YORK, ONTARIO CANADA - An East York apartment unit was heavily damaged Wednesday after a dryer caught fire.  "(The flames) took out the windows, so the fire got into the unit and did a lot of damage," Toronto Fire Services Capt. Don Marsden said.  Marsden said there were about a dozen fire trucks and 50 firefighters at the scene.

BURLINGTON, NC - A laundry dryer is to blame for a fire that destroyed a Burlington home Tuesday morning.  The Burlington Fire Department responded to the fire at 415 Billingham Drive just before 11:30 to find smoke pouring out of the windows and eaves of the house.  Burlington Assistant Chief Lonnie Graves said the house is not livable, and received an estimated $75,000 worth of damage.

SAPULPA, OK - A Friday night fire in east of Sapulpa resulted in a total loss for local residents.  Chief John Baker of the Sapulpa Fire Department reported that a fire broke out at 6202 S. 46th W. Ave in the Oakridge area.  “Evidently, the fire was started by a build-up of lint in the dryer,” said Baker.  “It is a pretty common mistake that causes a great deal of fires.”  Baker reported that no one was hurt as a result of the fire but that the house was considered a total loss.

EVANSVILLE, IN - A Posey County fire that leaves a family homeless and smolders late into the night Thursday.  No one was hurt in the fire that started in a dryer.  The babysitter was able to get all the kids out of the house safety.  Six fire departments responded to the scene, but had to truck in water to fight the fire because it's in such a rural location.  Everything inside was destroyed, and the family is devastated.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA - A "pretty stubborn little attic fire" drove a family of four from its home at 1515 N. Flores St. late Father's Day.  The fire did an estimated $60,000 damage to the structure and a car and $10,000 to its contents, said Battalion Chief George Avery of the San Bernardino Fire Department.  Battalion Chief Mike Alder dubbed the fire stubborn. "Once attic fires begin, there is nothing to stop them," he said.  The blaze was accidental and was started by a clothes dryer in the garage, Avery said.  "We chased it but it left some pretty extensive damage," Alder said.  The heat was so intense that it heavily damaged a car parked in the driveway.  It was speculated that the vehicle would be a total loss.

ROSEBURG, OR - Smoke and fire caused an estimated $170,000 in damage to a home on Southeast Main Street in Roseburg Sunday night after a dryer sparked a blaze.  Firefighters responded to 1466 S.E. Main St. shortly before 11 p.m. after the residents escaped and called 911 from a neighbor’s home, said Roseburg Fire Marshal Tony DiMare.  “When they got there, the house was completely filled with smoke,” DiMare said. “The fire was mainly contained to the basement,” he said. “… But then everything in the house got severe smoke damage.”

CONCORD, CA - Contra Costa firefighters are reminding residents to check their laundry dryers for lint build-up in the wake of a dryer fire that caused $20,000 in damage to a Concord home today.  Lint behind a dryer at a house in the 1000 block of Apple Street ignited a fire at 11:48 a.m. today.  Firefighters extinguished the blaze within 15 minutes.  The damage was contained to a converted room in the house's garage where the washer and dryer were kept.

TILTON, NH - Smoke detectors are being credited for possibly saving three lives early Tuesday morning when a clothes dryer caught fire, sending smoke through an apartment above the Smoke and Barley Convenience Store on Laconia Road.  Upon arrival at the scene, firefighters observed smoke coming from the second-floor of the building.  Inside the structure, firefighters found a heavy smoke condition throughout the second floor which they traced to a fire in a clothes dryer.

KETCHIKAN, AK - Forty-one firefighters from South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department, North Tongass Volunteer Fire Department and the Ketchikan Fire Department responded late Friday afternoon to a home fire.  Chief Scott Davis of the South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department said the department responded to a dryer fire.  Chief Davis said, "The fire quickly escalated to involve the entire structure and two additional alarms were called, there was extensive damage to the home."

BARSTOW, CA - Clean up efforts continue after a fire damaged a Pilot Travel Center last week in Barstow, Calif., according to the Desert Dispatch.  The fire apparently started in a clothes dryer on the west side of the store, Barstow Fire Protection Division Chief Sal Corrao.  The total damage has been estimated up to $1 million, which includes damage to the property and items lost in the fire.

NORTH BAY ONTARIO, CANADA - A clothes dryer with a plastic flexible vent pipe is the culprit in a house fire that broke out early Friday morning causing nearly $200,000 in damage.  Randy Vezina, the city's chief fire prevention officer, said the cause of the fire was lint, dust and other matter that had accumulated on the bottom of the dryer, near the heating element, which can reach 500 C during a drying cycle. The debris caught fire and ignited the plastic vent duct which carried the flames into the walls of the house and into the ceiling.  here is heavy fire, smoke and water damage throughout the home, Vezina said, which will cost almost $200,000 to fix.  Vezina said the city's fire department has been encouraging residents not to use plastic to vent dryers.  It's a petroleum product, he said, that burns fast and hot. Instead, Vezina said dryers should be vented with aluminum or other non-combustible material made to withstand high temperatures.

SAVANNAH, GA - A fire at a Middle Ground Road apartment complex has left one family without a home.  Tuesday evening a resident was doing laundry when her dryer caught on fire.  Firefighters kept the fire contained to the dryer, but the apartment did suffer smoke damage.

OLATHE, MO - After a clothes dryer fire this morning, Olathe fire officials are reminding residents to clean their dryer lint traps regularly and have the vents checked periodically.  Lint buildup is being blamed for the fire, which was contained to a laundry room of the Villa St. Francis apartments near 127th Streets and Interstate 35.  According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, about 15,500 such fires occur annually and cause more than $84 million damage.

LISBON, CT -A clothes dryer is being blamed for a fire that did significant damage Wednesday to the first floor of a two-story home. Deputy Fire Chief Tom Sparkman said, when firefighters arrived, significant smoke was billowing from the second floor of the house.  The second-floor windows had been blown out by the heat of the blaze, Sparkman said, and the first-floor laundry room was ablaze when firefighters arrived.  The first floor sustained fire-and-smoke damage.  The second floor sustained heat-and-smoke damage.

LANCASHIRE, UK - FIREFIGHTERS have issued a warning about tumble dryers after a fire which they said would have had serious consequences if it had been in a house.  A crew from Nelson Fire Station attended the blaze in Smith Street in the town, at 3pm yesterday, when bed sheets in a tumble dryer caught fire.  The dryer was severely damaged, as was the shed that housed the dryer and there was light smoke damage to the house.  Watch manager Tom Ashworth said that preventative measures should be taken to help stop dryer fires.

ST. LOUIS, MO - The spread of a fire Tuesday in the basement of a home in the first block of Harvest Drive was minimized by a few well-placed firefighters, officials said Wednesday.  As a Cottleville fire district crew was leaving a business inspection about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, they noticed smoke coming from a nearby house and called for help before rushing to the scene.  They found a fire in the basement.  It had shattered a window and was burning up the siding on the back of the house.  An 11-year-old girl who was at home escaped unharmed. Damage to the home is estimated at $50,000. The blaze was caused by lint buildup in the dryer, officials said.

CHICAGO , IL - A Bridgeview family lost two pet cats this morning when a fire broke out in the basement of their home.  The fire started in the basement near the dryer, and the blaze could have been caused by a malfunction in the dryer, Bridgeview Fire Chief Robert Thurzo said. The basement sustained fire damage and the rest of the home sustained smoke damage.  Two pet cats died.

SANTA ROSA , CA - A clogged exhaust vent from a clothes dryer caused a fire that destroyed a garage and caused $125,000 damage to a residence, the Santa Rosa Fire Department reported Monday morning.  The fire was burning in the garage of the single-story house and was threatening a neighboring house 10 feet away when firefighters arrived, Battalion Chief Mark Basque said.  The fire then spread to the attic of the main living area and caused major-to-moderate damage, Basque said.  The interior living area of the wood frame home sustained moderate smoke and water damage but firefighters saved the majority of the residents' personal belongings, Basque said.

KETTERING, OH - Investigators have released the cause of a house fire in Kettering.  Fire officials said a dryer in a utility room started a fire two weeks ago.  Two good Samaritans helped the family of seven escape the burning structure.  Kettering firefighters recommend that everyone routinely inspect and service their appliances.  They also recommend cleaning out the lint out of dryers on a regular basis.

ROCKFORD, IL - A clothes dryer sparked a fire in a home Thursday night.  The fire started about 8:45 p.m. on the lower level of the split-level ranch home, causing extensive smoke damage throughout the house, according to a report from the Rockford Fire Department.  No one in the home was hurt, but the structure has been deemed unlivable.

NAPA, CA - A preliminary investigation of a fire that destroyed a garage points to a running dryer.  When a tenant left the house about 20 minutes prior to fire breaking out, the dryer in the garage was running, Napa Fire Capt. Donnie Johnson said.  “We estimate the loss to be between $80,000 to $100,000,” Johnson said.  “The smoke was so heavy, you could not see the house from the street,” Johnson said. “Firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to the house even though there was no separation between the attic in the garage and the house.”

ORLANDO, FL - Dozens of residents from an Orlando nursing home were forced to evacuate Sunday night when a fire started in the facility's laundry room.  Fire investigators said the blaze started in a clothes dryer at the Rosewood Health and Rehabilitation Center.  A sprinkler system helped douse the flames.  Residents were moved to other parts of the facility.  No one was hurt.

STAUNTON, VA - A clothes dryer apparently overheated and started a house fire late Friday morning.  The house's residents escaped from the blaze uninjured, said Lt. Perry Weller of the Staunton Fire Department.  Weller said a preliminary investigation suggested that there was not enough space around the dryer to dissipate its heat.  The fire damaged the basement level, and the upper stories of the split-level suffered heat and smoke damage, Weller added.

RALEIGH, NC - In a 911 call Monday afternoon, an almost calm Shannon Minshew told a dispatcher that the house she lived in was on fire. The rickety old dryer, which had been a problem for some time, sparked the blaze, she explained.  Friends say that after hanging up, the 36-year-old positioned a chair on the wheelchair ramp outside the house and headed back inside.  She wasn't going anywhere without her grandmother, Mayola Waddell, 77, who was bedridden.  When fire officials arrived at 1884 Memorial Church Road shortly after 1 p.m., the small home was engulfed in flames.  They found Minshew dead in the front hall. Beneath her but still alive, was Waddell.  Waddell died later Monday at Wayne Memorial Hospital.  "Shannon's a hero," her friend Lauren Vick said Wednesday night.

FLINTRIDGE, CA -On Sunday a clothing dryer fire at the Cañada Crescenta YMCA called for evacuation of the entire building including those in the pool.  According to Malogolowkin, the staff noticed smoke coming from the roof above the laundry room around 4:10 p.m.  One of the facilities large dryers caught fire.

BLACKPOOL, UK - Fire crews from Fleetwood and Bispham attended a fire at a Cleveleys pub last night which was started by a faulty clothes dryer.  Thick smoke built up at the back of the Tramway's pub at about 10.20pm, which set off the smoke siren installed at the pub. The manager evacuated the premises before firefighters put out a small blaze.  The dryer was completely destroyed by the fire and there was light smoke damage to the laundry room, corridor and staff room.

GOLDSBORO, NC - An elderly woman and her granddaughter died from injuries they received in a fire that broke out inside of the laundry room.  The clothes dryer caught on fire and Ms. Minshew placed a call to 911 to report the blaze.  Firefighters from the Nahunta, Little River, Polly Watson, Fremont and Pikeville Volunteer Fire Departments arrived and found the large wood frame home engulfed in flames. "Firefighters entered the structure to bring two people out," Nahunta Volunteer Fire Chief Jay Howell said.  Ms. Minshew, who lived in the home to care for her grandmother, died instantly, officials said.  Ms. Waddell, who sustained heavy burns, died later at Wayne Memorial Hospital, officials said today.  The fire caused about $100,000 in damage and the home was declared a total loss, Wayne County Sheriff's Capt. Tom Effler said.

FONTANA, CA - A fire destroyed a garage at a Fontana residence on May 7, but 10 people at the house were able to escape the blaze without injury, according to San Bernardino County Fire Department officials.  The fire, which was apparently caused by the dryer inside the garage, erupted at 8:04 a.m., officials said.  The contents of the garage were destroyed, and the home received smoke damage. The total estimated loss was $280,000.

WESTPORT, CT - A dryer fire damaged a home laundry room today and caused smoke damage throughout the house, fire officials said.  It was the second Westport home laundry room fire in 11 days.  Firefighters responded to a 911 call at 11:32 a.m. of smoke coming from a clothes dryer.  The homeowner said she was in her kitchen when she smelled smoke in the adjacent laundry room.  She went to get a fire extinguisher but, “prudently exited the area when she observed the amount of accumulated smoke in the laundry room,” Maloney said.

HICKORY, NC - A small fire briefly evacuated a Hickory assisted living residence earlier today. A dryer fire forced the 73 residents of Hickory Manor, located on Sixteenth Street, NE, out into the cold and rain around 10:40 a.m.  With certain residents’ conditions and smoke and fire extinguisher chemicals in the air, officials felt residents should be checked out.  Investigators said the fire started when items inside the dryer got too hot.

PORT NECHES, TX - Jennifer English was excited to finally finish texturing and painting her living room on Sunday.  Completing the project meant she and her family were one step closer to remodeling their house into a home.  However, English’s dreams literally went up in flames Tuesday when a complication with her dryer caused a fire that left her home a charred and smoldering frame of ashes.

MISSION VIEJO, CA - The blaze started in the garage of a single-story single-family house, said Capt. Steve Miller of the Orange County Fire Authority.  Though firefighters quickly controlled the fire, they spent more than an hour stripping the building of roofing materials to make sure there were no smoldering embers underneat it or in the walls, which Miller called "extensive overhaul work."  Miller said that the fire displaced six adults and two children.  Firefighters traced the fire to a clothes dryer. They estimate the blaze caused $200,000 damage to the garage and attic, Miller said, as well as smoke damage throughout the home.

OAKLAND, CA - A two-alarm house fire Tuesday afternoon left a family of six homeless, officials said.  No one was injured but firefighters did rescue a dog from a burning shed, Capt. Melinda Drayton said.  The fire erupted about 2:57 p.m. in a dryer in a lower duplex unit.  The blaze, which caused $170,000 in damages, spread into the kitchen and attic of the lower unit, Drayton said.

COLUMBUS, NE - A Columbus woman at home sick awoke to find her basement clothes dryer in flames about 10 a.m. today.  She grabbed her 3-year-old daughter and whisked her to safety outside.  Ronnette Dovenbarger and her daughter, Torrie, were not injured in the fire that caused an estimated $10,000 damage.  About a dozen Columbus Fire Department firefighters spent about 45 minutes extinguishing the basement fire and setting up fans to draw the smoke outside.  The dryer was destroyed and there was smoke and water damage in the basement, Lt. Terry Pfeifer said.

SEATTLE, WA - A two-alarm house fire that broke out Tuesday morning in the 19500 block of 129th Court Northeast was caused by a clothes dryer, authorities said.  Several fire departments were called in at 9:08 a.m. to bring the blaze under control, police said.  Authorities suspect that clothing caught fire in the dryer when the overheating sensor failed.  The single-family residence had damage of about $200,000.

VANCOUVER, WA - Nine pets were rescued early Friday from a Vancouver house fire.  When firefighters arrived, the four residents were safely outside but were worried about their eight dogs and two cats trapped inside.  After dousing the flames, crews rescued all but one of the cats.  Special oxygen masks were used to revive the animals.  Two of the human victims suffered smoke inhalation but were not hospitalized.  The fire caused extensive heat and smoke damage to the home.  Investigators think that the fire started in the dryer.  Damage was estimated at $225,000.

LONDON, ONTARIO CANADA - An afternoon blaze caused $50,000 damage to a London home yesterday.  Fire officials were called to the Hawkesbury Avenue home before dinner time to fight the blaze, which is believed to have started in a dryer vent. The fire then spread to the roof and flames could be seen shooting skyward, fire officials and witnesses said.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Authorities have traced a Monday afternoon fire that caused about $120,000 in damage to a Southeast Side house to the dryer, fire investigator Pablo Martinez said.  The fire at 2200 Burning Tree Drive SE started about 4:40 p.m.  The owner told authorities she put a load of clothes in the dryer and left to run errands.  An off-duty Grand Rapids police officer spotted smoke and called fire officials.

HAZARD, KY - A Kentucky couple loses their home and business in the same fire Tuesday afternoon in Powell County.  Flames erupted at the Red River Outdoors Store near Natural Bridge State Park.  We're told four different county fire departments were called to fight the strong flames.  But by the time fire crews arrived to the scene it was too late. The fire destroyed the business and the couple's home, where they lived on the second floor.  Luckily the two were not injured in that fire, but the family dog wasn't so lucky.  Firefighters say they believe the fire may have started from a dryer.  Investigators are still looking into the official cause.

YORK, PA - Firefighters had to evacuate a Red Lion home yesterday after a two-alarm fire caused a gas leak.  The fire broke out in the clothes dryer, sending heavy smoke through the home, said Deputy Chief Joseph Yahnky of the Leo Independent Fire Co. in Red Lion. Yahnky said firefighters were able to extinguish the dryer fire in the laundry room within five minutes.  But Yahnky said firefighters had to evacuate the home after extinguishing the flames because a gas line going to a water heater at the home melted and caused a gas leak. Once a crew shut off the gas to the house, firefighters were able to re-enter the home.  Yahnky estimated the fire caused no more than $10,000 in damage.

POCOMOKE CITY, MD - A dryer fire resulted in the evacuation of the Holiday Inn Express hotel on Route 13 for nearly an hour on Sunday afternoon.  The Pocomoke Volunteer Fire Company said all guests and hotel personnel were evacuated and firefighters used high capacity smoke ejectors because of smoke and steam throughout the first floor.  Firefighters were at the scene for about 45 minutes and damage was contained to the laundry room, fire company officials said.

YORK, PA - A fire that started in a clothes-dryer vent system caused $20,000 in damage to a house at 1502 Fireside Road this morning, said York City Fire Department Assistant Chief Richard Saylor.  Neighbor Deb Barnhart said she and her husband saw Meloni's three cats looking out of the house's windows.  They told the 911 operator they planned to break into the house to save the cats, which Meloni treasures, Barnhart said.  But the operator advised against entering the home, she said.  Smoke claimed the life of one cat, which a firefighter found in a rear bedroom.  The other two cats were taken to an area vet, Saylor said.

BROCKTON, MA - A clothes dryer caught on fire in a single-family home Sunday afternoon on Peterson Avenue, fire officials said. Firefighters responded after receiving a 911 emergency call reporting the fire at 3:50 p.m. Sunday, said Fire Deputy Chief George Phillips. When firefighters arrived, they found smoke showing outside of the home.  Once inside, firefighters found flames within a room that housed the dryer, Phillips said.  Minimal damage was reported to the first floor of the wood-framed, Cape style home, Phillips said.

SNELLVILLE, GA - A family on Everson Court was displaced from their home Saturday after a fire originated in their clothes dryer and left significant damage to their house.  Firefighters arrived at the home at 3050 Everson Court about 9 a.m. Saturday to find heavy smoke coming from the house.  A blaze appeared to have originated in the laundry room.  The flames caused heavy damage to the laundry area and sent significant heat and smoke damage throughout the rest of the house.

LINDEN, NJ - An unattended clothes dryer started a fire in an East Henry Street home Saturday, according to a fire official.  Nobody was home at the time, and the fire extended out a window near the vent, igniting the side of the home before firefighters extinguished it, according to Deputy Fire Chief John Traub.  Traub warned that the heat buildup in unattended clothes dryers can start fires in some materials.  "And you need to clean out the lint filter or the air flow is not effective," Traub said.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Firefighters blamed a dryer for an early-morning blaze today at an apartment complex on Camelot Drive SE near East Paris Avenue.  A woman managed to get her four children out of the apartment safely after the dryer fire spread to the rest of her apartment.  Others left nearby units as firefighters responded around 5 a.m. Fire Investigator Pablo Martinez estimated damage at $50,000.

CHERRY HILL, NJ - A fire that damaged the basement of a bungalow-style home in Gloucester City was caused by a dryer, fire officials said.  The one-alarm fire was reported about 2 p.m. Monday at 804 Center St., Fire Battalion Chief John McNutt said. "There was fire damage to the basement and smoke damage throughout the rest of the property," McNutt said.

HUNTSVILLE, AL - Huntsville Fire & Rescue responded to blazes at two residences Monday, according to dispatchers.  The fire at 511 Bain Drive reportedly started in the dryer and heavily damaged the home.  No one was at home at the time.

GREENSBORO, NC - Eighty-three people were evacuated from an assisted living home early this morning after a fire started in the laundry room.  The building was being evacuated with light smoke coming from the first floor and dining room on the second floor, according to a fire department press release.  A fire had started in the dryer in the laundry room. A sprinkler head was activated, which extinguished the fire.

PORTLAND, OR - A fire in a dryer led to the evacuation of the Chemawa Indian School near Salem early Sunday, the authorities said. Firefighters helped evacuate three dorms while they searched for the cause of smoke.  They discovered that the fire started in a dryer that was running with a load of towels.

BRUNSWICK, MD - A fire destroyed a home about 7:30 a.m. today at 2701 W. Boss Arnold Road, according to Brunswick Volunteer Fire Co. Assistant Chief Wade Watson.  The fire was ruled to be accidental, caused by a blocked dryer vent, Watson said.  Damages are estimated at about $250,000.  It took more than a dozen fire companies about two hours to control the flames, Watson said.

PEARL RIVER, NY - Heavy smoke from a laundry room fire forced the evacuation of the Pearl River Hilton last night.  More than 100 volunteer firefighters from six departments responded to the alarm about 7:30 p.m.  The fire began in a dryer, setting off an automatic alarm that alerted the volunteers as well as hotel employees.  The fire was contained to the laundry room, but "there was smoke throughout the whole building," Pearl River Fire Chief Tom Bade said.  "Once we knew we had an active fire, we evacuated the building right away." "The actual problem was that we had smoke conditions throughout the whole building," Bade said, "so we had to do a floor-by-floor, room-by-room search."

SIMCO, Canada - Damage is pegged at 30 thousand dollars after a house fire in Simcoe.  Yesterday morning, firefighters were called to a home near the intersection of Ireland road and Highway three.  A motorist driving-by saw smoke coming from the windows and used their cell phone to call authorities.  When firefighters got to the scene they discovered a fire had started in a clothing dryer and spread to the upstairs of the house.  No one was home at the time and no injuries were reported.

DAMARSICOTTA, ME - Jefferson firefighters pumped more than 134,000 gallons of water onto a blaze ignited by an electric clothes dryer at a Waldoboro Road residence on Saturday night.  Firefighters from Waldoboro, Newcastle, Whitefield, Nobleboro Washington, Windsor and Somerville assisted Jefferson firefighters, who battled the fire for five hours from 10 p.m. Saturday night until 3 a.m. Sunday morning.  The fire destroyed a 100-year old two-story farmhouse owned by David Steinkoenig.

BELLEVILLE, Ontario, Canada - A small, flaming dryer shut down a section of the area's largest shopping centre Monday.  Fire crews responded to the southwest entrance of the Quinte Mall near the Sport Chek store at 11:28 a.m. after receiving a 911 call reporting smoke billowing through the mall.  According to firefighters at the scene, a dryer used for towels at the Paris Nails location began smoking and the contents eventually caught fire - sending dark clouds wafting out the front entrance of the store and into the mall corridors.  Fire inspector Lyle Quennell said the blaze was caused by a build-up of lint in the dryer's vent system.  "People should make sure the lint trap is properly cleaned out after every use and once a month make sure there isn't lint trapped in piping out the rear of the appliance," he said.

EUREKA, CA - A fire late Friday at a dormitory facility at St. Bernard’s caused an estimated $2,000 in damage and required the evacuation of around a dozen people.  According to a news release issued by the Eureka Fire Department, the small fire - which originated in a dryer - was reported minutes before midnight, and firefighters from the EFD and the Humboldt Fire District arrived at the scene to discover the contents of the dryer burning, with flames extending to adjacent appliances.  Yarnall said the fire was probably caused by a failure to clean the dryer’s lint filter, and was exacerbated by the use of vinyl ducting material to vent the dryer.  “Combustible vinyl ducting is not approved for dryer venting,” the release stated.  Yarnall said aluminum ducting material should be used instead.

COBOURG, Ontario, Canada - The Terry Fox YMCA Child Care centre remains closed a day after a fire in a dryer cleared out the centre.  On Thursday, March 29, just before 6 p.m., Cobourg firefighters responded to a call of a fire at the child care centre.  When firefighters arrived they discovered the fire in a clothes dryer.  Cobourg Fire Chief Al Mann said, “It could have been lint which collected on a filter or a heating coil, we are not sure just yet.”  The fire was confined to the dryer, but the ceiling above it was torn open to ensure the fire had not spread.

NEW YORK, NY - Yesterday's West 65th Street apartment building fire was caused by lint buildup in the clothes dryer. Somehow the lint ignited, and according to the NY Times, "flames racing upstairs in the pipe recesses between the building’s front facade and an inner wall." A 31-year-old woman found was in cardiac arrest and actually flatlined, but medics brought her back to life and she is now in stable condition. Her companion is also in stable condition; 10 other people were injured.

VERNON, CT - Shivering under a fleece blanket borrowed from a neighbor, Christine Vigneault clung to her newlywed husband, Jeremy, Tuesday evening and tearfully watched flames and smoke shoot through the collapsed roof of their condo off Old Town Road. "It's just so awful, but I can't look away," she said. Then a cell phone rang, and her mother was on the other end.  Christine buried her head into Jeremy's shoulder and sobbed into the phone - "It's all gone."  On Tuesday, a raging fire that officials say may have started in a dryer vent quickly consumed four attached units within 15 minutes.  The roof collapsed on the two-story wood frame structure, Fire Chief Robert Kelley said.  The dryers are back-to-back in the second floor hallway of the townhouses, and the fire traveled through the walls from unit 99 into 100 and spread to 101 and 102 through the attic, Kelley said.

WILLISTON, ND - A 12-plex apartment building was evacuated early Tuesday after a dryer fire was discovered in an attached laundry room. "It started with an old gas dryer in a laundry shed attached to the apartment," Williston Fire Chief Alan Hanson.  The flames were contained within 20 minutes.  Tenants found wind chill factors of 20 degrees outside.  Damage to the laundry structure was estimated at $5,000. Hanson said smoke damage appeared minimal to the apartment portion itself.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - Fire forces dozens of assisted living residents out of their rooms in the middle of the night.  It happened around 11:30 p.m. Monday night at Patrick Manor Assisted Living Facility located on 73rd Avenue North in St. Petersburg.  St. Pete Fire and Rescue say the fire started in the laundry room from a gas dryer.  The fire was contained to the laundry room although smoke spread throughout the building.  43 residents total were evacuated.  Officials say all the residents were taken to a nearby hotel for the night.

LYNNWOOD, WA - A hair salon in Lynnwood caught fire Monday afternoon.  Around 2:45 p.m., a dryer full of linen ignited in the beauty shop in the 19000 block of Highway 99.  "It looks like lint build up allowed the dryer to overheat and catch the contents on fire," Lynnwood Fire Lt. Jason Turner said.  The business temporarily closed Monday in order to clean up from the fire.

DULUTH, GA - Gwinnett Place Mall was evacuated Saturday night after a fire started in a clothes dryer at a nail salon on the lower level. Gwinnett County Fire Department spokesman Lt. Tommy Rutledge said the only damage caused by the fire was to the clothes dryer.  Mall patrons were evacuated about 7:50 p.m. when moderate to heavy amounts of smoke began to fill the common area near the food court.  “It was a Saturday night and it was cold outside, so there were a lot of people in the mall, but no one was injured,” Rutledge said.

SEBEWAING, MI - Saginaw firefighters spent about 30 minutes quenching a dryer fire in the basement of the May Mims home, 2012 S. Washington.  The family was home and shut the basement door, which kept smoke damage to a minimum, said Battalion Chief Jeff A. Martinez.  He estimated damage at $1,100 combined for the structure and contents of the two-story wood-framed house.

NORTH EAST, MD - Investigators said Tuesday’s fatal fire near North East was the result of a faulty clothes dryer and the victim died of smoke inhalation.  Barbara Hensler, 66, died in her trailer at 111 Inverness Drive, where she lived alone, said deputy state fire marshal Joseph Zurolo Jr.  An autopsy performed at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore showed Hensler died of smoke inhalation, he said. Investigators do not know exactly what caused Hensler’s dryer to malfunction.  Most dryer fires are caused by the build up of lint, which can ignite from a dryer’s heat, according a report by the U.S. Fire Administration.  Any blockages in a dryer’s exhaust vent can cause the dryer to overheat, the report shows.

LANDFALL, MN - Fire investigators have determined a clothes dryer started a mobile home fire that killed three family members in the eastern Twin Cities.  Officials don't know the precise cause of the last Thursday's early morning blaze in Landfall.  But they speculate the dryer may have overheated from a buildup of lint or hanging clothes.  "Obviously, that's what we're speculating," said Maplewood Fire Chief Steve Lukin.  Luis Bernal Sr., 25, his wife Sandra, 26, and their 4-year-old son Erick died in the fire.  Another 6-year-old son, Luis Bernal Jr., and the boy's 31-year-old uncle survived.

MUNSTER, IN - A dryer fire in an apartment went unnoticed for an estimated 30 to 45 minutes Monday morning, giving the fire time to creep through the vent and spread into the wall, a fire official said.  The fire, at 936 Hampton Court, ended up causing $70,000 damage to the four-unit apartment building, Valparaiso Assistant Fire Chief Dan Lamb said.  Lamb said none of the units will be livable until repairs are made. Valparaiso police evacuated the building, and Washington Township firefighters assisted.  Porter hospital emergency medical service took Gordon to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, Lamb said.

YORK, PA - An early morning dryer fire in West York continued a long week for local firefighters.  No one was injured by the fire which broke out at an apartment in 41 N. Pearl St. at about 12:40 a.m. this morning, said Fire Chief Dave Nichols of the Shiloh Fire Co.  Nichols said the dryer fire did spread a little in the apartment, but firefighters "knocked it down pretty quick."  No one was in the apartment when the fire began.  Firefighters from West York, Spring Garden Township, West Manchester Township, Shiloh and Dover Township responded to the dryer fire this morning.

LINCOLN PARK, NJ - Police said a woman doing laundry in her condominium reported a fire from the dryer.  Jennifer Kouchler was home at 250 Robertson Way on the first floor of the three-story building with her dog and cat when she reported the dryer was engulfed in flames Tuesday morning, Sgt. Michael Runfeldt said.  No one was injured.  The fire, which did not cause any extensive damage to the condominium or the 24-unit building, was put out by the fire department, said Runfeldt.  The dryer was destroyed.

CHEMUNG, PA - Four members of a family of five escaped injury when their mobile home caught fire Wednesday night.  Chemung Fire Chief Dan Sewalt explained that firefighters were called to the 1577 County Route 60 home of the Raymond Decker family at 9:40 p.m. Wednesday for the report of a dryer fire.  The mobile home and its contents have been declared a “total loss,” said Sewalt.

HANNIBAL, MO - The Hannibal Fire Department says a faulty dryer caused a fire at a house at 1712 South Arch Street Tuesday morning. Firefighters got the call at 10:50 a.m.  When they got there, they saw heavy smoke and fire coming from the back of the house.  Firefighters had the fire under control within 15 minutes.  The entire house had heavy fire and smoke damage.  One person got out safely, but several pets died in the fire.

HUNTSVILLE, AL - A Stone Crossing Apartments resident was moved to another apartment Thursday afternoon after the resident's apartment was damaged by fire, Huntsville Fire & Rescue spokesman Jay Gates said.  A blocked clothes dryer vent caused the fire at 3784 University Drive, Gates said. The dryer and the clothes in it were destroyed by the fire.  The laundry room had light fire damage and the rest of the apartment had smoke damage, Gates said.

CHANDLER, AZ - The Chandler Fire Department is asking the public to keep their laundry vents clean after a laundry room fire in a Chandler home Sunday evening.  "LInt trapped under the dryer might be an easy start for fires," Chandler Fire Battalion Chief Dan Couch said.  The fire, which began at about 5:40 p.m. at a home on the 100 block of North Soho Place, is still under investigation.

NAMPA, ID - Officials are crediting fire sprinklers for saving a Nampa building from fire on Saturday.  Fire crews were sent to the Beehive Assisted Living Center on Saturday afternoon, but by the time they arrived, a sprinkler system had already extinguished the flames. According to the Nampa Fire Department, the blaze was caused by lint build-up in a laundry room dryer vent.

NEW BEDFORD, MA - A dryer fire yesterday at an apartment building in the city's South End has temporarily left six families homeless. District Chief Thomas Marginson said there is substantial smoke and water damage to the six-family building at 153 Blackmer St. Fire officials ordered power to the building cut.  "The fire got into the ceiling between the second and third floors and into the stairway," he said.  The fire in the dryer was reported at 12:25 p.m. and four engine companies and two ladder trucks responded.

BEND, OR - A clogged dryer vent caused a Salem house fire over the weekend.  Firefighters were called to 478 Hawthorne Avenue NE about 6:20 p.m.  “The occupant, Anaya Rosas Juan Arturo, and his family, were at home when they checked the clothes in the dryer and discovered the inside of the dryer was on fire,” said Bill Holmstrom, spokesman for the Salem Fire Department.  When firefighters arrived, the dryer inside the garage was engulfed in flames.  They quickly extinguished the blaze. Investigators determined the cause of the fire was a clogged dryer vent that did not allow heat to escape properly, thereby igniting the clothes.

HENDERSONVILLE, TN - Firefighters were called to 206 Evergreen Drive at around 5 p.m. responding to a dryer fire call.  Hendersonville Fire Inspector Bob Galoppi said there were several people - including three children - in the home at the time of the fire, and that all escaped unharmed.  That fire appears to have started in a clothes dryer and was contained to the home's laundry area.

CHICO, CA - Fire caused by a problem with a clothes dryer destroyed the garage of a home at 846 Central Park Drive Sunday night.  Flames also engulfed a Porsche parked in the garage, and badly damaged a second.  No one was injured in the fire. It took 20 firefighters several minutes to control the flames.  Fire Department Division Chief Chris Main said the interior of the home suffered heavy smoke and heat damage, but didn't burn.  The dryer was definitely the origin of the fire, but Main did not immediately know if it was from an electrical problem or from a vent clogged with lint.  He estimated structural damage to the home at $100,000.

ORLANDO, FL - A faulty dryer at Seminole County Animal Services in Sanford is being blamed for killing nearly 40 animals.  The fire was knocked down in about 15 minutes but not before 32 cats and seven dogs were killed.  Other animals were also treated for smoke inhalation.  Nearly 300 animals at the clinic survived the fire.

TAMPA BAY, FL - A dryer caught fire Tuesday in a Tampa Palms home, causing extensive damage to the house, according to Tampa Fire Rescue.  The owner was at home when the fire started, but no one was injured in the blaze, which started at 1:51 p.m., said fire rescue spokesman Jace Kohan.  It took fire crews 30 minutes to bring the fire under control.

NORWICH, CT - Quick work by firefighters Tuesday helped save a historic Norwichtown home damaged by fire.  The fire started in a dryer at the rear of the 1 1/2 story, single-family Colonial at 7 Harland Road, according to homeowner Pat Tatro.  Tatro, 62, said it was at about 9:20 a.m. when she smelled burning lint.  Smoke billowed out of the dryer when she opened the door.  She left the house with her cat and called 911 as flames began moving in the wood structure.  "It just spread so quickly," said Tatro, who watched in tears from her vantage point across the street, comforted by neighbors.  Taftville Fire Chief Steve Caisse said firefighters arrived to find the fire had traveled from the laundry room into the second-floor bedrooms and attic.  Caisse said the fire spread unchecked because of the balloon-type construction and lack of fire breaks in the structure, built in the 1730s.

MADISON, WI - An overheated clothes dryer vent pipe caused a fire Saturday evening on Orchard Street that caused an estimated $30,000 in damages, according to Madison fire investigators.  All residents escaped safely, but the incident is prompting the Fire Department to remind the public of the safety hazards a common household appliance like a clothes dryer can cause.  The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission blames clothes dryers for an estimated 15,500 fires a year.  Combined, these fires leave in their wake an average of 10 deaths, 310 injuries and more than $84.4 million in property damage.  The department suggests that the lint screen, dryer vent and wall behind the dryer be cleaned frequently.

KANSAS CITY, MO - Students and staff members at Liberty High School were evacuated about noon today after smoke was reported in one of the athletic locker rooms.  Liberty fire officials were called and determined that the smoke came from a clothes dryer in the basement of the building, said school district spokesman Jim Dunn.  Firefighters found and quickly put out the dryer fire.

WEST COLUMBIA, SC - A fire destroyed a home near West Columbia Monday, and it appears to have started in a dryer.  The blaze happened in an Ermine Road home Monday afternoon.  Lexington County Assistant Sheriff for Public Safety Bruce E. Rucker says the call came about 1:55pm.  Five Lexington County fire stations responded, along with the Columbia Metropolitan Airport Crash and Rescue Unit and West Columbia Fire Department.  But the flames still caused $200,000 in damages to the two-story, wood-frame home and its contents.  No one was injured in the fire.

WILSON, NC - Twenty-six nursing home residents were evacuated from Avante at Wilson nursing home this morning after a laundry room fire created smoke inhalation concerns.  The fire created a flurry of activity as Wilson police, Fire/Rescue Services, County Emergency Medical Services, Ambulance Service and the Red Cross responded to help evacuate the residents, most of whom are in frail condition.  In addition to the evacuees, close to 34 nursing home residents were removed from the wing where the fire sparked in a clothes dryer at about 8 a.m. "Sometimes smoke inhalation is worse than fire," said Debra Page, Avante human resource director. The fire started in a clothes dryer and was noticed by nursing home workers who worked to quickly extinguish the fire.

BIDDEFORD, ME - The fire that destroyed a four-unit apartment building on Center Street during the weekend began in a clothes dryer on the first floor, state investigators said Monday.  Though no one was hurt, several residents said they lost all of their possessions.  The apartment building, which belongs to Tim Boardman of Scarborough, was for sale at the time of the fire, listed at $275,000.  Boardman said the building is a total loss and the city has given him two weeks to tear it down.

JANESVILLE, WI - A second house fire in two days is prompting fire officials to remind people about the importance of working smoke detectors.  Firefighters were called to a ranch home at 3317 Turnberry Drive at 11 a.m. Monday for a fire that started in a clothes dryer in the basement.  Damages were estimated at $45,000

CRESTWOOD, IL - An overheated dryer sparked a fire that caused extensive damage to a Crestwood home, fire officials said today.  No one was injured in the blaze in the 100 block of Linder Court, Crestwood Fire Lt. Kevin McAuliffe said.  The fire started in the laundry room of the bi-level home, he said.  The fire started about 8:45 p.m. and firefighters needed about an hour to extinguish.

YORK, PA - A family of six is temporarily homeless after a clothing dryer caught fire, damaging a home in York.  The fire was reported at 10:29 p.m. Thursday in the 300 block of Albemarle Street, causing an estimated $8,000 in damages.  Naomi Edwards, another unnamed adult and four children were left homeless, fire officials said.

SALEM, NH - A four-alarm office building fire destroyed several businesses.  Smoke and fire damage was extensive throughout the second floor.  Water damage was found throughout the first floor offices, fire officials said.  "It was originally called in as a dryer fire," said Salem fire Chief Kevin Breen.  Visage Day Spa & Skin Care owner Cindy Cabral said she noticed flames behind the dryer in her second-floor business.  After dumping vases of water over the flames, she initially believed the fire was out. The fire then spread into the walls, however.  Chief Breen explained, "The fire caught on the plastic behind the dryer, and it quickly moved into the concealed space and into the attic." Once the fire reached the attic, it quickly spread to the far end of the building where the roof eventually collapsed." Breen said.

LITTLE ROCK, AR - Fire officials say a faulty laundry dryer may be to blame for a late night fire at a home in Little Rock.  It happened just after 11:00 p.m. Tuesday night near the intersection of Younger Place and Granite Mountain Circle.  One of the residents reportedly went to the laundry to check on clothes and that's when fire was seen coming from the back of the Dryer.  The blaze quickly spread throughout the home. When crews arrived on the scene the house was fully engulfed.  Fortunately, all five people inside were able to escape without injury.

CHICAGO, IL - A house fire killed a Fox Lake man who died of smoke inhalation while asleep in the living room of his home, authorities said. The mid-morning fire in the 500 block of Circle Drive was extinguished in about 20 minutes, Fox Lake Fire Department Assistant Chief Ed Lescher said.  Thomas Hogan, 70, was pronounced dead at the scene.  The fire began in a clothing dryer near the kitchen of the one-story wood-frame house, authorities said.  Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said Hogan died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.  "It looks like he laid down for a nap in the morning and just didn't wake up," Keller said.

FARGO, N.D. - A fire in a dryer forced more than 50 people to leave a substance abuse treatment center here.  Supervisors at Centre Inc., discovered the fire in the first-floor laundry room, and tried unsuccessfully to put it out with fire extinguishers, Assistant Fire Chief Larry Schuh said.  Firefighters were called to the blaze at 8:26 p.m.  Fifty-six people were evacuated to another building just to the north, also owned by Centre Inc., while firefighters extinguished the fire, Schuh said.  Fire damage was reported in the laundry room, and smoke damage on the first two floors of the building, he said.

GILBERTSVILLE, PA - A bird's nest lodged in a clothing dryer vent caused a fire that sent six people scurrying into frigid air Saturday afternoon.  "The nest prevented the dryer from exhausting, and the clothes caught fire," Gilbertsville Fire Chief Rick Smith said.  The fire caused extensive damage to the apartment building.  About 50 firefighters from a half-dozen Montgomery and Berks companies had the fire under control within a half-hour, but spent nearly three hours at the scene.

SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA -Dozens of bakery workers were evacuated for about two hours Friday after a small fire that officials said was confined to a clothes dryer.  The dryer in the maintenance room at the Goldilocks Corp. commercial bakery, 10329 Painter Ave., caught fire at about 10:30 a.m.  No one was injured, said Santa Fe Springs Fire Department Chief Scott Goodwin.

SUMNER COUNTY, TN - About 15 volunteer firefighters battled a blaze for three hours Tuesday at a one-story home in Sumner County.  Fire Chief Jason Birdwell of the Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Station said strong wind and sporadic snowfall complicated the departments’ efforts. Birdwell said it appeared the fire had started in a dryer in the home’s laundry room.  The owners were not at home when the fire started. The house sustained damage from end to end, and blue skies were visible through the gaping hole where a roof should have been.  All that appeared to be left of its midsection were burned walls and a floor.

LYNCHBURG, VA - A clothes dryer malfunctioned, overheated and caught fire Monday night sparking a blaze in several Tenbury Drive townhomes.  And, authorities believe a dryer was responsible for another fire in Bedford County on Tuesday morning.  Moneta Fire Chief Jack Arrington said a Little Creek Road residence suffered smoke and water damage in an 11:30 a.m. blaze.  The fire started in the vicinity of the dryer. A study commissioned by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2001 found that clothes dryers in general can be dangerous if not properly maintained.  In 1996 alone, dryers were responsible for 15,500 fires, 20 deaths, 320 injuries and $84.4 million in residential property damage nationwide.  Lint in the lint screen and external vent system can be particularly dangerous, the study said.  On Monday night, a malfunctioning dryer damaged a total of three townhouses at Tenbury Square.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA - A fire in a clothes dryer at the Embassy Suites Hotel early Monday was caused by overheating of the unit, firefighters determined.  The fire activated an overhead sprinkler system that kept the fire from spreading, said Battalion Chief Tom Zeulner of the San Luis Obispo Fire Department.  Guests left the hotel just after 1 a.m. after fire alarms and remained in the parking lot until the fire was out.

LONG BEACH - A Saturday morning fire in a single-family house apparently caused by a laundry dryer caused minor injuries to a firefighter, authorities said.  The Long Beach Fire Department received a call at 11:22 a.m. to the residence at 15th Street and Locust Avenue, said Capt. Jim Arvizu, department spokesperson.  Firefighters arrived and found the kitchen and porch in the back of the house "fully involved in fire," Capt. Jim Arvizu, department spokesperson said.  A family of four was displaced, he said.  The house and the family's possessions had extensive damage - estimated at $100,000 - from fire and smoke, he said.  One firefighter suffered minor burns to his face and was treated and released at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Arvizu said.

ROSENBURG,TX - Fire officials believe that a household appliance inside a Richmond mobile home was the source of a blaze that completely destroyed the residence and all of its contents Thursday.  The fire started shortly before noon at 1901 George Ave.  Fire Marshal Robert Haas said the fire likely started in a clothes dryer that was in use or had recently been in use.  When Richmond and Rosenberg fire units arrived, heavy flames were coming from the room where the dryer was located. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze within minutes, but the trailer home was not salvageable.