Holden Lodge evacuated due to fire in commercial dryer – Smoke damage means residents can’t return immediately

Holden Lodge residents were evacuated in the early morning hours of Thursday, Feb. 2 after a fire in a commercial dryer created so much smoke as to make it unsafe for them to stay.

The fire in the dryer was noticed by night staff when smoke started billowing out of the laundry room. Two staff attempted to put it out with fire extinguishers but that was unsuccessful so they called 911 and initiated the lodge’s emergency response plan.

The Holden Fire Department responded “within minutes,” stated Beaver Foundation Board Chairman Harold Conquest in a press release the following day.

The foundation oversees the seniors’ lodges in the county. Owen Ligard, the foundation’s CAO, said an evacuation order was initiated about 1:30 a.m. as part of the emergency response.

Once the fire was contained, it was determined that there was too much smoke throughout the building … For more see the Feb. 7/17 Mercury