Thorngate dryer catches on fire

A night janitor was the first to notice a fire had started inside a commercial dryer Thursday night at at Thorngate Ltd., a Cape Girardeau clothing manufacturer.

A pile of damp nylon and cloth soil bags inside the machine spontaneously combusted, said battalion chief Steve Niswonger of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department.

The janitor had just returned from a dinner break at a coworker's nearby apartment after 9 p.m. when he saw the smoke in the building and then ran back to the apartment to call for help.

The small fire was contained to the electric dryer and no one was injured by the smoke or fire. However, the thick smoke billowed through more than half of the building and lingered near the ceiling for nearly an hour after firefighters began airing out the large facility with high-powered fans.