Old Forge 1st Alarm Companies were sent to the 500 block of South Main  Street early Saturday morning for a reported fire in the basement of Revello's Pizza Restaurant. Old Fore Fire Chief Bob Aulisio arrived shortly after dispatch to find the 2 1/2 Story Wood Frame Tax Payer charged with smoke in the basement. Prior to the arrival of the Companies, Chief Aulisio found a clothes dryer in in the basement with fire inside the dryer drum. The fire was held to the dryer. Companies arrived and quickly controlled the problem with no extension outside of the dryer. 

While the incident is still under investigation, preliminary concerns revolve around the fact that the clothes dryer was being used to dry towels utilized in the restaurant. Lower Valley Departments have responded to numerous Restaurant Kitchen Fires, Commercial and Residential Laundry room fires, where towels utilized for restaurant purposes were being laundered. The article below (Spontaneous Combustion Of Oil Soaked Towels) points to the serious concerns involving vegetable fat cover rags.

In the past five years there have been several major fires in restaurant and hospitality operations that have been traced back to spontaneous combustion of cleaning towels soiled with cooking oil. Naturally occurring oils such as cooking oils produce heat as they dry. The heat produced during this drying process can be considerable and can lead to spontaneous combustion of the towels. The heat and fire generated from the spontaneously combusted rags could cause the fire to spread to other combustible materials stored in the area. In order to lessen the chances of spontaneous combustion of rags, the following steps should be taken: Thoroughly rinse all oil and grease soaked towels with a combination of water and degreaser. Once the water and degreaser have been applied and hand rubbed, rinse the towels again under running water to help remove any excess grease or cleaning product.

Wring the towel as dry as possible.

Place the towel in a covered metal container, and close the lid on the container. The lid on the container must be fully closed. Failure to properly close a lid can let an uninterrupted supply of oxygen into the container and could aid in the spontaneous combustion process. Even towels that have been thoroughly rinsed can still contain residual amounts of oil that could cause spontaneous combustion. A sealed container that limits the amount of available oxygen is our best defense against spontaneous combustion.

Do not tightly pack the soiled towel storage container. Tightly packed towels do not allow the heat generated from the drying process to dissipate. The heat generated by tightly packed towels can cause other towels in the bin to catch fire. If the metal storage container is full, additional towels should be individually laid flat (nothing on top or below) on a noncombustible surface to completely dry.

A professional laundry service should exchange the cleaning towels two to three times a week.

Following these steps will help to greatly reduce the chances of a fire due to spontaneous combustion of soiled cleaning towels.

Terry cloth towels are the most susceptible type of towel to spontaneous combustion incidents. The individual Terry fibers create a massive amount of surface area where the oils can collect. The large amount of surface area makes these types of towels much more absorbent, but also makes it much harder to clean excess oils from the towels after they have been used. Article by David Barry, HRH Central Region