Dryer Fire Damages Home

A build up of lint in a dryer exhaust tube allowed a fire to spread to the crawl space of a local home.  

At 6:49 p.m. Saturday, communication officers with received a 911 call reporting a structure fire in the 300 block of Hardigree Drive.

“First arriving firefighters found smoke coming from the crawl space and front door,” Lt. Scott Dakin, public information officer, said in a news release. “Crews found the fire had started in the dryer and had spread to the crawl space of the home via the build up of lint in the dryer exhaust tube.”

Engines 1 and 3, Med 1 and Battalion 1 were dispatched, and crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly.

The home suffered smoke damage from the fire. 

The American Red Cross responded to the scene to assist the family.

Barrow County Emergency Services reminds residents that dryers should be disconnected from rear vents once a year and cleaned out.  The exhaust tube and the tubing exiting out of the structure can build up lint over a period of time.

“By removing the vent tube and vacuuming the excess lint from the rear of the dryer you remove the potential for a lint fire,” Chief Investigator Blair Darst said in a news release.