Newport: Fire in a laundry room at 510 NE Harney Street – County Animal Shelter
Smoke came up from behind a laundry room dryer Wednesday afternoon at the Lincoln County Animal Shelter. Shelter workers discovered the laundry room full of smoke. One worker grabbed a fire extinguisher and the other pulled out the electrical cords going to the washer and dryer.
The smoke dissipated and it was later discovered by fire investigators that the consumer grade dryer, which is not built to withstand heavy, continuous duty cycles, just overheated and filled the area with smoke. The dryer is toast, so to speak.
So now the Animal Shelter is scrambling for a dryer which dries just-washed cleaning cloths, animal blankets and other items.
A commercial dryer with a special mount and electric service can easily run $20,000 according to a local vendor.