EL PASO -- A fire that destroyed a mobile home in Northeast El Paso and another blaze that damaged a house also in that section of the city were both caused by clothes dryers, El Paso Fire Department officials said.
At about 8:31 p.m. on Saturday firefighters responded to a blaze at a mobile home in the 12400 block of Desert View.
Clothing behind a dryer at the home caught on fire and the blaze spread quickly, Fire Department spokesman Lt. Mario Hernandez, said.
A family of six escaped the blaze but their residence was destroyed. Damage was estimated at about $10,000.
Another fire occurred about 9:47 a.m. Sunday, this time at a house in the 5900 block of Chippendale.
A woman there reported smoke coming from the garage. The fire burned a few items and caused smoke damage of about $5,000 to the home, Hernandez said.
Fire investigators determined that a motor inside the dryer had overheated and set clothing ablaze.
Hernandez said people should regularly clean their clothes dryers and make sure there are no materials near the appliance that can catch fire.
