A clothes dryer that caught on fire threatened a home at Forestville.
Just before 1.45pm yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, 03 September), NSW Police and Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Forestville, Dee Why and Willoughby Stations responded to a report of a house fire at Lady Davidson Circuit, Forestville.
On arrival, firefighters in breathing apparatus found a person evacuated and smoke coming from the residential property.
Neighbours had initially spotted the fire, raising the alarm and alerting the occupant of the home. They used buckets of water to try and douse the flames until emergency services arrived.
Making entry to a smoke-logged laundry through an external door, firefighters found a clothes dryer had caught on fire, with flames spreading up the wall and into the ceiling of the two-level home.
Using hose lines, they were quickly able to extinguish the fire in the dryer before pulling apart the wall and ceiling of the laundry to access flames that had spread inside the cavities.
They were able to reach the spreading fire before it took hold in the structure of the building, containing damage to the laundry and saving the home.
Firefighters then used a high-pressure fan to clear smoke from the house.
FRNSW Forestville Station Senior Firefighter Scott FitzGerald warned everyone with a clothes dryer to check the lint filter.
“With the long wet spell we’ve had, clothes dryers have had a lot of use. It’s important to regularly check the filter and make sure there isn’t a build-up of lint that could combust,” said Senior Firefighter FitzGerald.
The power and gas supplies to the property were switched off by firefighters, and the residents were advised to leave them off until they could have a safety assessment done of the damaged laundry.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
Images: Fire and Rescue NSW (Senior Firefighter Scott FitzGerald)
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