WINNIPEG -- The City of Winnipeg has confirmed that a fire at a Winnipeg home on Thursday evening was caused by a clothes dryer.
The fire took place around 4:50 p.m.at a townhouse complex in the 100 block of Lumsden Avenue.
Once fire crews arrived at the scene they found heavy smoke coming from the building, and determined the fire was coming from the laundry room.
The fire was quickly extinguished and firefighters then ventilated smoke from the rest of the building.
Everyone got out of the building before crews arrived. Paramedics assessed five people, but they didn’t need to be taken to the hospital.
There’s no damage estimate available at this time, but the city said the fire was caused accidentally by the clothes dryer.
The city offered the following tips to reduce these types of fires:
- Have a dryer installed and serviced by a professional;
- Dryer ducts should be cleaned every year;
- Don’t use a dryer without a lint filter, and clean the filter after each load of laundry;
- Check the venting to make sure there’s no lint buildup and to ensure it’s not damaged, crushed or restricted;
- Make sure the outdoor vent flap opens when the dryer is running; and
- Don’t leave a dryer running if you’re not at home.
