Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) is urging people to take care before starting up their clothes dryer after a laundry fire in Dunedin.
Fenz spokeswoman Lynn Crosson said Lookout Point crews were called about 10.30am this morning to a home in Peel St, Mornington, after reports of a fire in a laundry.
They arrived to find "a decent wee fire in a dryer,'' she said.
While crews were able to extinguish the blaze before it spread to other parts of the home, a person at the property was treated by St John for smoke inhalation before being taken to Dunedin Hospital.
The incident was reported to WorkSafe's energy safety team, but the dryer was so consumed by flames that its brand was indistinguishable.
Ms Crosson said the incident served as a timely reminder that dryers can be dangerous if improperly used or maintained.
"Lint filters do need to be cleaned regularly.
"Also just watch the size of your loads.''
Running an overloaded dryer could cause fires because dryers "produce so much heat,'' she said.
She also sounded the alarm about spontaneous combustion of hot, dry clothes after they were removed from the dryer.
In 2012, a fire started at Wellington's Backbencher pub due to dried tea towels left in a bundle.
Heat stored within in the dried towels caused them to spontaneously combust, igniting a fire that gutted the kitchen and consumed several models of political leaders in the pub.
Ms Crosson said this risk can be mitigated by laying clothes out after they were dried, rather than leaving them bunched up.
