NEWPORT — Investigators say that towels that were used for cleaning and stored in a bag spontaneously combusted inside the Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center in Newport on Monday night.
The Newport City Fire Department was notified of smoke inside the building at around 11:55 p.m.
When they arrived on the scene, they found that the building was full of smoke. Once inside the firefighters found a shopping cart containing a bag of towels that was smoking. They pushed the cart outside where it burst into flames.
They were quickly able to extinguished the fire, and removed the smoke from the building.
On Tuesday a fire investigation unit was sent to the Tasting Center to conduct an investigation. They determined the cause of the fire as spontaneous heating.
Authorities say the the fire was caused because the towels, even though they were laundered, had chemical residue still on them, and once stored in a bag set off a chemical reaction that led to their combustion.
“Please remember to store rags and towels that have oil or grease or other chemicals on them in an area that would allow good ventilation, and do not keep them in a bag or other container that would provide insulation and allow for spontaneous heating,” Paul Cerutti, Assistant State Fire Marshal said.
The damage is estimated at $5,000.
