Dirty Laundry Bursts Into Flames At Country Club

Chesterfield's firefighters responded to an alarm early Friday morning in the loading dock at Forest Hills Country Club in Clarkson Valley, to find a bin of dirty laundry in flames, Monarch Fire Protection District officials said.

One theory is cooking oil on the laundry may have ignited in the extreme heat, however nothing has been confirmed or investigated at this time.

The fire sprinklers in the building turned on in the smoke and fire, and controlled the blaze until firefighters took over.

"This could have been quite a catastrophe had the fire alarm system not activated, and had the sprinkler system not controlled the fire until our arrival," said Monarch Fire Marshal Roger Herin.

Herin went on to describe the sequence of events:

Monarch Fire Protection District responded to a fire alarm sounding at the Forest Hills Country Club, located at 36 Forest Club Drive in Clarkson Valley, MO, at approximately 2:30 AM Friday, July 6. 

Upon arrival, firefighters found smoke coming up an interior stairway from the lower level near the loading dock area. 

A first alarm was struck summoning more equipment and manpower as a precaution. 

Upon investigation, it was found that a large laundry bin full of dirty laundry was on fire inside the loading dock area, and two fire sprinklers were controlling the fire. 

Firefighters quickly completed the fire extinguishment and, after doing so, stopped the water flow. Damage was very minimal, and there were no injuries.

Re: the sprinkler system —At the time of day this occurred, it is likely that the fire would have spread throughout other parts of the building, and possibly through the roof, before being noticed.

This is a case where, after the fire started, everything worked as it should have.

I believe that the fire alarm system and the fire sprinkler system both paid for themselves in just this one instance. 

The cause of the fire is listed as undetermined at this time, but rags containing cooking oil in the laundry bin and the ambient heat may have been a factor.