Four Kent Fire Department engines responded to a fire in canopies outside of a commercial laundry facility at about 3 a.m. Thursday in the 7800 block of South 228th Street.
The first call reported it as a possible dumpster fire but firefighters on the first engine at the scene found the fire in three outdoor canopies used to store soiled linens (tablecloths, uniforms, shop rags) until the linens could be moved into the laundry building for cleaning, according to a Kent Fire Department media release.
Three additional fire engines responded to the scene because of the size of the canopies and the amount of burning linen. No one was injured.
Because the fire was very deep seated in a large quantity of tightly packed soiled linen in bins, a fire fighting foam was used to extinguish the fire and cool the burnt linens. Firefighting crews then unpacked each burned bin to continue to cool the burned linens and extinguish any hidden or smoldering fires.
Fire investigators determined spontaneous combustion in a bin of dirty shop towels caused the fire. Fire officials did not have a damage estimate. There was no damage to the main laundry building.
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