Clothes dryer fire destroys Kettering home

Friday, Dec. 23, 2005

A fire that began in a basement clothes dryer destroyed a Kettering home early Dec. 22, sending two firefighters to the hospital and causing about $350,000 of damage.

The Prince George’s County fire department reported that the family started the dryer before leaving the house to run errands that morning. A neighbor who saw smoke coming from the house, on the 400 block of Richton Court, reported the fire at 8:15 a.m.

Fifty firefighters and paramedics fought the fire for 45 minutes before extinguishing it. In the wake of the blaze, two firefighters were sent to local hospitals with minor injuries, and the family has lost heir home and most of their possessions.

The county fire department advises residents to never operate a dryer without a lint filter, and to clean the filter regularly. The department also asks residents to turn their dryers off before leaving their homes, and to have them professionally installed and serviced by a professional.