Dryer Removed After Underwear Goes Up In Smoke

When you toss a pair of socks into the dryer, it sometimes seems only one sock comes out. That’s been a real problem for a west side Madison man.
 
“I have been losing socks in there for a few weeks,” he said after the Madison Fire Department was called to his home.
 
He was doing laundry Wednesday night when his dryer began smoking. He unplugged the appliance and shut off the gas line to it.
 
When Engine 9 arrived, he told the crew that there’s been a hole in the dryer drum for quite a while. Indeed, firefighters found a baseball-sized opening in the back of the drum, and it seemed to be where the smoke was coming from.
 
A firefighter sprayed water into it to extinguish whatever was smoldering. He reached inside and identified the culprit: Panties.
 
Because the dryer was known to routinely consume small articles of clothing, firefighters removed the appliance from the home so they could spray it down and look for other articles that could still be smoking.
 
As they did so, Ladder 6 was requested to help ventilate the basement, which was filled with a fair amount of smoke. They also monitored the air for gas leaks as a result of the valve disconnect.
 
They discovered some carbon monoxide buildup in the basement, believed to be a result of the smoking dryer, and ventilated thoroughly to clear the air.
 
The homeowner was asked to keep air moving in the house to aide in the reduction of CO levels.