A fire that started in a clothes drier was a reminder to business owners about the risks of oil residue on towels, Central-North Otago fire risk management officer Stuart Ide said.
The fire started in the drier drum after towels containing massage oil ''spontaneously combusted''.
A sensor alerted the Queenstown Volunteer Fire Brigade to the fire at the Nadi Wellness Centre on the second floor of a Stanley St building on Saturday night.
Mr Ide said he had attended many fires in the resort caused by oil residues, mainly in restaurants but also in motels and commercial laundries. They usually involved tea towels and wipe-down cloths impregnated with cooking oil, or fish oil on towels used by chefs.
The materials could ignite in a drier, or after they were folded and stacked but were still hot.
He recommended people not overload their driers, to let them complete their cooling process before removing towels, and to keep the lint filters clean.
A hot wash would eliminate most of the oil, he said.
The same issue could cause fires in home driers, although that was ''pretty rare''.
Nadi Wellness Centre owner Sandi Murphy said she would now use a laundry service to clean her towels and sheets, or wash them in a ''really deep, hot wash with detergent''.
She was thankful the fire brigade had responded so quickly and stopped the fire spreading. She expected to reopen on Monday.
