Busselton laundromat fire 'inconvenient'

Busselton's Central Laundromat is expected to be out of action for a couple of days after a fire broke out on yesterday afternoon, destroying one of the machines.

The incident is believed to have happened when tea towels in one of the operating dryers started burning and ignited into flames, causing smoke to emanate from the Queen Street premises and the adjacent Times office to be temporarily evacuated.

Firefighters contained the situation but were unable to confirm any specific cause.

Owner Kylie Taylor said it appeared someone had left their towels in the dryer, which was not uncommon, but it was not known whether a machine fault had triggered the fire.

She estimated the replacement cost of the machine to be about $8000 and said while closure of the Laundromat while repairs were made was “sad for the town”, the damage could have been much worse.

“We are just lucky it was one dryer and nothing else was affected,” she said. “It was a minor inconvenience but it will all be sorted.”

Mrs Taylor advised people to always ensure they did not overload driers or leave them unattended.