UPDATE: House-fire response in Gatewood, downsized quickly

9:55 AM: SFD is arriving at a house-fire dispatch in the 8200 block of California SW. So far, they believe it’s just a dryer fire.

9:58 AM: Most of the units are being dismissed. Our crew confirms the dryer itself has been pulled out of the house.

10:03 AM: Added above – photo of dryer. No one hurt.

12 Replies to "UPDATE: House-fire response in Gatewood, downsized quickly"

  • Annonymous August 5, 2020 (10:00 am)

    Wonder if that is where all the fire crews and medics are responding that just went up Roxbury and Olson way heading west.

  • greentea August 5, 2020 (11:01 am)

    That sort of fire always scares me…no matter that I clean the lint trap every time there still seems to a lot down inside! And how many people put clothes in the dryer and then leave the house? My hand is raised.

    • WSB August 5, 2020 (11:44 am)

      Also: Not necessarily relevant to whatever went wrong with this dryer, but please don’t run the dryer while people are asleep. Keeping odd hours here at WSB HQ, we do late-night laundry, but ensuring the dryer is off is always on the end-of-night checklist.

    • Helpermonkey August 5, 2020 (12:06 pm)

      @greentea:  I found a supplemental lint brush on Amazon, it’s a long flexible brush that really helps getting the rest of the leftover lint out of the area around the lint trap. Also, never ever leave the dryer going when you’re not home! 

  • Yma August 5, 2020 (11:57 am)

    Huh – seriously, things I didn’t think about before.i ALWAYS clean the lint trap. Then again, I put stuff in the dryer to finish up overnight & it’s on the same level as bedrooms. I will take this advice to heart.

  • Lori N August 5, 2020 (2:57 pm)

    Folks, it appears the drum motor belt broke, causing a build up of heat. It had nothing to do with an accumulation of dryer lint. The owner was home time, thankfully! So glad the fire did not spread and no one was hurt. SFD did a great job. As others have pointed out, always turn off your dryer when you leave the house. 

    • WSB August 5, 2020 (5:15 pm)

      Thanks for the update and glad everyone is OK.

  • T Rex August 5, 2020 (3:03 pm)

    Also be picky about the drier sheets you choose. Personally I don’t use them in the summer. Only in the winter when you can have static electricity. If you think by using more than one works better, it really does not.  If your sheets are not working then you loads may be too big.Those sheets can leave  very clear residue on your drier screen that build up over time. Unless you take it out and wash it with hot water and soap, it stays on the screen. Over time it can build up and if it gets too hot it could contribute to a fire. I never leave the house with my drier, washer or dishwasher on. And yes, I have had a house fire before many years ago. I learned from tips from talking to firemen when I went to meet them after they saved my house. The drier sheet residue was one of those tips.

  • Trickycoolj August 5, 2020 (3:42 pm)

    Mom: what is the *one* rule in my house? Never leave an appliance running when you leave!  (I was in college and started the washer and went to work, it went off balance and walked sideways and dented the wall something fierce. Machine was only 2 years old in 2005. Oops)

    • Yikes August 5, 2020 (4:09 pm)

      Washers! We had a front loading washer. We were running a load and somehow a zipper got caught on the rubber bellows/ gasket, ripped a hole in it and then during the rinse cycle, started flooding our house.  We were home, but watching TV and didn’t even realize until lots of water had already escaped… The washer wasn’t even a year old yet :( had to get the bellows replaced and address all the water damage.  yikes.

  • newnative August 5, 2020 (5:24 pm)

    I had a friend who had a lint trapper catch on fire after she had turned off the dryer and burned her garage. I stopped pre-heating the oven unattended after my boss’s oven caught fire while she was in another room. 

  • waikikigirl August 5, 2020 (5:26 pm)

    AND since we are on safety issues… a co-worker of mine her husband turned on the self cleaning option for their oven went outside to do yard work and an hour or so into the cleaning heard their smoke alarm going off ran into house to find stove on fire thankfully was able to pull stove outside because of course when on clean cycle the oven door is locked. So as everyone has mentioned do not leave house when anything is on.
    Had to tease her and said boy your oven must had been really dirty, she laughted!

Sorry, comment time is over.