News Short: Unattended laundry starts fire in laundromat

Firefighters cleaning up their equipment after extinguishing a fire at the 1 Stop Laundromat, Dec. 27, 2014, Washington, Utah | Photo by Brett Brostrom, St. George Utah

WASHINGTON – Unattended laundry at the 1 Stop Laundromat caught fire in a dryer, causing fire alarms to go off and emergency responders to attend to the scene.

“It browned the wall above the dryer a little bit, but it didn’t really get any of the structure. It was just damage to the one dryer,” Washington City Fire Chief Brent Hafen said. “They put their clothes in there and then they went shopping. When they came back, it was still tumbling so they just waited then it started smoking.”

The fire was contained within one dryer, limiting damage to only one unit. Two Washington City fire engines and 10 firefighters, as well as Washington City Police and Gold Cross Ambulance all responded to the fire.

A Washington City firefighter happened to be driving by, and stopped and shut electricity off to the building to shut the dryer off, Hafen said. “Once the engines got here, they went in with a hose line and took the clothing out.”

There were no injuries reported at this incident. People in the laundromat used a fire extinguisher to extinguish flames, but because there was so much smoke Hafen said it was better that they exited the building and let the firefighters handle the situation.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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10 Comments

  • ladybugavenger December 27, 2014 at 9:38 pm

    I dont have much to say, clothes burned= #fundraiser

  • koolaid December 27, 2014 at 10:20 pm

    Was it someone’s magic undies, the burning bosoms type, that caught fire?

  • Joe Smith December 28, 2014 at 12:06 am

    Well on a positive note they were probably thoroughly dry before they were doused with fire hose 😀 xD

  • Dana December 28, 2014 at 5:53 am

    “When they came back, it was still tumbling so they just waited then it started smoking.”
    So, was it or wasn’t it unattended?

  • Evil twins mommy December 28, 2014 at 7:29 am

    It was unattended prior to completing it’s cycle. 5 yard penalty to be assessed after punt return please reset the clock

  • tight magic undies December 28, 2014 at 9:19 am

    When I wash my magic underwear, I do so in a careful way. Getting the skid marks off, while preserving the sacredness of them, is a delicate matter.

    • Dana December 28, 2014 at 3:09 pm

      Your skids kills off the sacredness of the skivs. Buy new ones next paycheck and tell the Bishop you won’t be tithing this week. Kudos to you for caring, though.

    • Albemarle December 28, 2014 at 6:21 pm

      @TMU I think you wear yours undies too tight. Your comments are always full of evidence of your lack of testosterone. Loosen your grip on your LDS anger and loosen your undies. Your balls and the world will be better for it.

  • laytonian December 28, 2014 at 11:08 am

    The “unattended” laundry didn’t start the fire. The (obviously poorly-maintained) dryer overheated. Most likely, a build-up of lint.

    • Koolaid December 28, 2014 at 1:18 pm

      So someone’s shorts didn’t cause a short?

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