EASTHAMPTON — Firefighters responded to a dryer vent that caught fire at approximately 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Washing Well laundromat on Union Street, filling the inside of the business with smoke.
The fire was contained to the dryer vent and was extinguished by firefighters before it could expand any further, Fire Chief Christopher Norris said Friday as crews monitored the situation. No one was harmed.
He said there would not be lasting damage to the laundromat, which was expected to reopen Saturday. The fire was caused by lint build up in the vent, and Norris said the owner was instructed to clean all the vents before reopening.
The vent that caught fire leads to an opening on the roof of the building, one of the businesses in the Union Street plaza just next to Family Dollar, which allowed most of the smoke to exit, Norris said.
Easthampton Fire responded in about two minutes, just a short drive from the Public Safety Building on Payson Avenue. Multiple Easthampton police cars and fire engines were on scene, along with Southampton and Northampton Fire.
At about the same time last year, Norris said Easthampton Fire responded to another instance at the same laundromat, that time due to a belt malfunction in one of the dryers.
“We were here a year ago for a similar occurrence, not as bad,” Norris said.
