FIREFIGHTERS from Ashburton and Buckfastleigh were brought in to tackle a tumble dryer that had caught fire.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service’s finest received the call on Saturday [April 6] afternoon.
While on route it became clear it was a domestic appliance that had caught fire.
The labour-saving device was well alight upon their arrival, but, fortunately, the occupants of the property were quick to realise and were out of harms way.
Alongside their colleagues from Ivybridge Fire Station, the Teignbridge firefighters set about tackling the fire.
The BA team removed the dryer to the back garden, before extinguishing the small fire within using a hose reel jet.
This prevented significant damage to the property.
‘It was fortunate that the occupants noticed the fire as the tumble dryer was actually switched off and they were preparing to leave the house’ a spokesperson for Buckfastleigh Fire Station said.
‘Due to the occupants job as a massage therapist, we believe that there were essential oils within the towels that had been machine washed and then placed in the dryer which we feel led to the fire and not an electrical fault as the fire was isolated to the contents of the drum only.
‘That being said never leave a tumble dryer unattended and always air dry oily clothes whether that be cooking oil, car oil or essential oils’ the spokesperson added.
