Very Odd Cause Of House Fire In North Carolina
I’ve never heard of anything like this! Be very careful when doing laundry because a very odd thing could cause a house fire. Firefighters in Burlington, North Carolina were shocked at what started a local house fire.
On November 29, firefighters were called to the home of Anthony Mebane. According to the Burlington Fire Department, the house fire began after Mebane took clothes out of the dryer. According to The News & Observer, Mebane took clothes out of his dryer and placed them on his bed. He then went to work, planning to fold the laundry later. Sadly, that didn’t happen.
The clothes became so hot in the dryer, that when placed on the bed they ‘smoldered’. The heat caused other clothing articles and furniture to catch fire. What?! I have never heard of anything like this! I never thought that hot clothes from the dryer would be dangerous when placed on a comforter, fabric sofa, or other places in a home.
Firefighters say that there was a synthetic material jacket in the laundry that became so over heated, it ignited on the bed. Since Mebane wasn’t home at the time, there were no injuries. Unfortunately, the fire did cause about $30,000 to his home.
Be careful when placing hot clothes on things in your house. This could happen to anyone! The U.S. Fire Administration offers tips for general laundry safety which you can see below:
- Don’t use a clothes dryer without a lint filter or with a lint filter that is loose, damaged or clogged.
- Don’t overload the dryer.
- Don’t use a wire screen or cloth to cover the wall damper. They can collect lint and clog the dryer vent.
- Don’t dry anything containing foam, rubber or plastic. An example of an item not to place in a dryer is a bathroom rug with a rubber backing.
- Don’t dry any item for which manufacturers’ instructions state “dry away from heat.”
- Don’t dry glass fiber materials (unless manufacturers’ instructions allow).
- Don’t dry items that have come into contact with anything flammable like alcohol, cooking oils or gasoline. Dry them outdoors or in a well-ventilated room, away from heat.
- Don’t leave a clothes dryer running if you leave home or when you go to bed.
“When I first heard about it, I didn’t believe it,” the homeowner told media outlets. https://t.co/GDBNq3AwDP
— The News & Observer (@newsobserver) December 1, 2022
