Fires near dryers cause damage in Lombard, Naperville

A Lombard firefighter suffered minor injuries Monday morning while battling one of two unrelated fires that began in or around dryers in DuPage County.

One of the fires caused major damage to a house in Lombard, the other caused minor damage at a college field house in Naperville.

The most substantial of the two was reported shortly after 6:30 a.m. at a ranch-style house on the 1100 block of South Fairfield in Lombard.

The first units on the scene found a large amount of smoke in the house, Lombard Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Howell said, and called for assistance from several neighboring communities.

Howell said the homeowner indicated the fire started near a dryer, although the cause of the blaze remains under investigation. He said the fire caused roughly $80,000 to $100,000 damage to the home's interior, with most of the damage in the area around the washer and dryer.

Howell said the residents escaped unharmed, but one firefighter was injured while attempting to vent the roof to allow smoke and fire to escape.

Earlier Monday morning, Naperville firefighters responded to a dryer fire that caused roughly $5,000 damage at North Central College's Merner Fieldhouse on the 400 block of South Brainard Street, authorities said.

Firefighters received a 911 call at 2:37 a.m. from campus security and the first units arrived on the scene about six minutes later to find smoke inside the building, according to a Naperville Fire Department news release.

It took firefighters about 10 minutes to extinguish the fire, authorities said. While the fire itself was contained to the dryer, smoke spread throughout much of the first and second floors of the field house.

Bureau Chief Kevin Lyne said the fire was sparked by an electrical problem in the dryer.