Lint Blamed in GV Fire
By Doug Mattson - Friday, December 29, 2000
A firefighter carries burning clothing out of the laundry room of Grass Valley Apartments on Pleasant Street in Grass Valley. Lint apparently ignited, causing $1,500 in damage. Grass Valley and Nevada County Consolidated fire departments responded to the fire, which began early Thursday afternoon. (Photo by John Hart)
Built-up dryer lint was to blame for a fire Thursday in a Pleasant Street apartment laundry room, said Grass Valley firefighters.
Grass Valley and Nevada County Consolidated crews went to 340 Pleasant St. at 12:55 p.m. and doused burning clothes found in the dryer, on the floor and in a washtub, said Grass Valley Fire Capt. Tom Browning.
The dryer's lint trap was cleaned before the fire, he said, but lint had apparently built up inside the dryer, making it possible for the gas burners to ignite the lint.
An apartment tenant spotted the fire inside the dryer and tried to extinguish the clothes' flames, but wound up spreading the clothes around the laundry room, Browning said.
He estimated the fire caused $1,500 in damage to the tub, floor and dryer, but the dryer still works.
Crews cleared the scene at 1:24 p.m.
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