Where there's smoke … there's dryer

The Daily Inter Lake

A flaming clothes dryer in the basement of the county jail prompted a flurry of activity from firefighters, jail workers, and central emergency dispatchers Monday evening.

The dryer and its contents were a total loss.

But in the end, a little smoke was the only evidence to the rest of the Flathead County Detention Center that anything was amiss.

Shortly after 7 p.m., Kalispell fire prevention officer Ray Ruffatto reported, an air-duct smoke detector triggered a fire alarm. Two engines and nine firefighters left for the Detention Center, where jail workers directed them to the basement and the on-fire industrial clothes dryer.

Firefighters shut down the power and natural-gas supplies and used dry chemical and water extinguishers to quash the fire and prevent its spread.

Portable fans were put to work clearing out the smoke, a job that Sheriff Mike Meehan said took about two hours.

Ruffatto said light smoke wafted to several areas of the building through the air handling system, but nobody was evacuated or in danger.

Meehan said there was smoke on the second floor of the justice center, which was vacant at the time of the fire, but smoke did not reach the inmates' quarters.

Damage estimates for the dryer and contents are pending.

Although investigators know the fire started in the drum of the dryer, they are looking into the cause.

Whitefish Fire Department staffed an ambulance and stood by at a Kalispell fire station during the incident, Ruffatto said. He also credited detention center staff, 911 dispatchers and Johnson Controls workers, who helped with air-handling equipment.