Highway 108 shut down Sunday for almost an hour 

 

COLUMBUS—A fire at the Columbus Laundromat Sunday was caused by lint in a dryer, according to the Columbus Fire Department.  

The department was dispatched at 5:24 p.m. Sunday to the Laundromat, located on Mills Street/Highway 108 in downtown Columbus.  

“When we arrived there was white smoke in the ceiling,” said Lt. Dylan Priester.  

Priester said an evacuation of customers was already in progress, thanks to the Columbus Police Department, who helped tremendously with the evacuation and traffic control.  

The fire was contained to one dryer, which was caused by an excess amount of lint built up, which got hot and ignited, according to Priester.  

Priester said the fire department would like to encourage people to always clean out lint in dryers as they are a common cause of fire.  

The fire department extinguished the fire with a water can then used the ladder truck to check the roof for precaution.  

Highway 108 was shut down on both sides for about 40 minutes, with the police department handling the detour of traffic.  

Tryon and Mill Spring Fire Departments assisted with the fire, with the Landrum Fire Department handling mutual aid for Columbus. The Polk County EMS also arrived as well as local police departments. The Polk County Fire Marshal’s Office handled the investigation of the fire.  

Later Sunday evening, the Columbus Fire Department assisted the Tryon Fire Department and Landrum Fire Department with its Ladder 22 truck to a chimney fire on Lake Lanier. The fire from the chimney extended into the walls, but the fire was contained and extinguished, according to reports.