That warm, toasty, fresh-from-the-dryer feeling can apparently have a treacherous side – as evident from one non-fatal house fire that broke out in Burlington early Tuesday morning.
This destructive blaze reportedly erupted at 918 Herman Blue Court after the home’s resident had left for work in the small hours of the morning on Tuesday.
According to the city’s fire department, smoke was already beginning to seep out of the residence when the first firefighting crew arrived on the scene at 12:20 a.m. in response to an automated fire alarm. This crew, which was soon joined by additional firefighters, managed to trace the smoke to the bedroom, where they went on to extinguish the blaze in about 15 minutes.
According to the fire department, the catalyst for this fire became readily apparent as the city’s firefighters took stock of the aftermath.
“The cause of the fire was determined to be…laundry that had become excessively hot from the clothes dryer and w[as] removed from the dryer to the bedroom,” the department elaborated in a statement later that morning. “The articles of clothing then smoldered, subsequently catching other clothing articles and furniture on fire.”
The department estimates that this fire went on to inflict about $20,000 in damage to the dwelling and another $10,000 in losses to the home’s contents. The department nevertheless stresses that the toll might’ve been a lot worse if not for the home’s automated alarm.
“This fire highlights the benefit of a monitored fire alarm system,” the agency added, “which resulted in a quick dispatch of the fire department which minimized damage to the house.”
