Another fire at apartment complex causes $25,000 damages Thursday

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington Fire Department reports the “Pines of Wilmington” fire Thursday night started in the laundry room and left $25,000 in damage.

Wilmington Fire Department Spokeswoman Natosha Vincent tells WWAY the fire was caused by either an electrical or mechanical failure of stackable washer dryer unit.

WFD responded to a multiple family residential structure fire at 1003 Nautilus Drive around 7 p.m. Chief Tom Robinson says the crews found smoke coming from the laundry room and the fire was contained to the laundry room. But, Vincent reports some residents were displaced overnight because power was cut off to the building. She did not verify the number of displaced residents.

The National Fire Protection Association reports each year 14,000 fires start in laundry rooms and last night’s fire at the “Pines of Wilmington” adds to the list.

Investigators have not confirmed if it was related to excessive lint, but Captain Derek Mickler with the Wilmington Fire Department says you need to clean out your dryer lint often.

“When you look at lint itself, it’s actually very combustible,” Mickler said. “It’s actually utilized sometimes to even start fires out at a cookout or even a fireplace because it’s just so highly combustible. So, when you add that with a plastic accordion type vent that you may get at a hardware store, you need to actually look to get an aluminum rigged vent.”

Mickler says crews have responded to multiple fires in the City that have roots in laundry rooms, but he says it’s a nationwide problem. He says, out of the 14,000 laundry related fires each year across the nation, there are about 30 deaths, 400 injuries and $200 million in property damage.

Mickler says yearly maintenance is also just as important.

“They need to make sure annually that they clean out the vent pipe that goes from the back of the dryer out to the exhaust area of the house as well,” Mickler said.

Last July, a fatal fire occurred in this apartment complex. Wilmington Fire Department reports 58-year-old Eulandra Williams was on fire when they arrived and died at the scene. They report the cause of the fire was smoking materials.