Dryer outside structure found to be the problem
The quick response of a Beach Club employee during the early morning hours of July 17 in Siesta Village likely prevented extensive damage at the adjacent Lobster Pot restaurant, a Sarasota County Fire Department report indicates.
The Fire Department alarm was issued at 1:04 a.m. that Thursday, the report says, after the Beach Club worker “noticed an odor of smoke” at the Lobster Pot, which stands at 5157 Ocean Blvd., and called 911.
Firefighters/medics with Station 13 on Siesta Key found that “an outside stackable washer/dryer unit … had caught fire,” the report explains. One section of the report notes “flames coming out the top” of the electrical dryer.
Formally, the report says, “The fire originated in the dryer and had burned a hole through the dryer and burning materials had fallen on top of the washing machine.”
The Engine 13 firefighters turned off the power to the washer/dryer unit and then was able to extinguish the flames with just two cans of water, the report notes. “Crews on scene removed burnt contents from dryer and put them in a mop bucket. Later investigation revealed burnt contents to be towels from the restaurant,” the report points out.
The value of the burned towels was put at $50 in the report, with the property loss estimated at $1,000.
The report explains that when the Engine 13 crew members arrived on the scene, they found the single-story block building with no audible or visual alarms. Moreover, the report adds, no smoke or flames were visible from three of the structure’s sides.
However, when Engine 13 pulled into the alley between the Beach Club and the Lobster Pot, the report notes, the crew members detected an odor of smoke. Upon further investigation, the report continues, the crew members saw “smoke and a small flame” through a wooden fence.
Initially, the report continues, the firefighters were unable to gain access to the building. Finally, the report says, they were able to do so from another side of the structure.
Firefighters with Station 11 on Stickney Point Road, who also had been dispatched to the scene, went up on the roof to search for any sign of the fire and found none, the report adds.
After an owner of the restaurant arrived, the report continues, he allowed the firefighters to enter the building. “There was some smoke inside but no signs of fire extension,” the report points out.
Shortly thereafter, the report indicates, all of the firefighters left the scene.
Altogether, the report notes, five fire suppression units, with 13 crew members; two EMS units, with four crew members; and two other Fire Department vehicles, with a total of two persons, went to the scene. The first firefighters arrived at 1:10 a.m., just 6 minutes after the alarm was issued, the report says. They were from Station 13, the report adds. The station stands just to the south of Siesta Beach Park, near the intersection of Beach Road and Midnight Pass Road.
The last unit cleared the scene at 1:48 a.m., the report adds.