Deputy Chief Eric Lorenz said firefighters were dispatched at 10:45 p.m. after a neighbor noticed smoke coming out of the dryer vent at 77 Colonial Road.
The first firefighters on scene saw flames coming through the vent and through a basement window they could see a fire in the basement. They were able to extinguish the fire quickly, Lorenz said.
The fire extended to some combustibles around the dryer and to clothes piled on top of the dryer. Firefighters had to open up walls in the first-floor apartment to stop the fire from spreading further, he said. The sole adult male occupant of one of the units and a female adult and a 10-year-old girl from the second unit were outside when firefighters arrived, Lorenz said.
Power and gas were cut to the residence and firefighters called the Red Cross to provide temporary shelter for them due to the fact the utilities had been cut.
The fire marshal is investigating, he said.
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