Restaurant owners were not aware of hot laundry risk until fire gutted eatery
THE owners of a popular Greek restaurant had never heard of self-ignition tumble dryer fires until one gutted their building.
Sarah Newson and Kostas Grigorakis’ restaurant El Greco Greek and Italian Eatery in Auckland’s Campbells Bay was destroyed by a fire on the night of June 29.
They later learned the fire was caused by a bag of cleaning rags that had beenwashed and tumble-dried at a commercial laundrette before theywere left in a plastic bag in the restaurant’s kitchen, a process Fire and Emergency NZ calls spontaneous ignition or self-ignition.
Self-ignition fires usually occur in fabrics that were oily or greasy beforewashing, which are then tumble dried and left inside the drier or in a pile without being able to cool down. The slow oxidation of oil or fat residues may eventually prompt ignition. Cold wash cycles that fail to remove all fat and oil are believed to increase the risk, according to FENZ safety advice documents provided to commercial laundry operators.
Newson said the cleaning cloths had been in the kitchen for about seven hours before the fire started. ‘‘They [firefighters] pulled apart some wet rags and you could actually see the snaking of the burn from the centre of the rags out towards the oxygen, which is freaky really.’’
The restaurant has been closed since, as while the structure remains sound, the smoke damage was immense, Newson said.
FENZ figures show selfignition resulted in 38 commercial and residential clothes dryer fires between 2015 and September 22, this year.
Newson said there needs to be more awareness surrounding the dangers of self-ignition, given tumble driers are a staple in many homes.
The restaurant’s rebuild began on Friday and is expected to take between six and eight weeks. The couple is hoping to re-open the doors bymidDecember.
In the meantime, El Greco have been selling crepes, coffee and pita souvlaki from a food trailer to recoup some business.