Laura Ball thought “someone had died” when her phone rang in the middle of the night
The damage after the fire was put out(Image: Submitted)
A family-run café in Waterloo narrowly avoided disaster last month after a fire broke out in the early hours of the morning. The incident happened at Anji’s Coffee & Kitchen on Crosby Road North on Friday, September 26, and was caused by ‘smouldering’ tea towels that had been freshly dried at a local launderette.
Owner Laura Ball, 40, from Crosby, explained how the towels had been folded and stored away while still warm after being tumble-dried. Unknown to her, the residual heat caused the fabric to smoulder for hours, eventually igniting at around 2am.
The mum-of-four told the ECHO: “We take our tea towels to the local launderette, and after folding them while they were still warm, I put them away in the drawer and went home. It was around ten hours later they went on fire.
“The fire service called me in the middle of the night. I never thought it would be anything to do with the shop – my first thought was someone in my family had died. When I arrived, the place was filled with smoke and it stunk, but they’d managed to isolate the fire.”
The blaze was first detected by a resident who lives above the café after being woken by smoke alarms. Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service responded, breaking into the premises to extinguish the flames before they could spread further.
Laura said: “Luckily there wasn’t huge damage. But if it had been ablaze for another hour or so, the whole kitchen could have gone up, especially because the drawers are right next to the deep fat fryers and loads of electrical appliances.”
The incident has left Laura with approximately £1,000 in damages, a significant cost for a small independent business.
Firefights advised the business to fully air out fabrics after tumble drying, warning that fires caused by heat-retained laundry are more common than people realise.
Laura added: “I just want to warn people because I didn’t know this could happen, it’s scary. You wouldn’t think you could fold up some warm towels and there’d be a risk of fire.
“It’s devastating but it could have been an awful lot worse, so we are just grateful nobody got hurt.”
Anji’s Coffee & Kitchen, formerly known as Brews, has been a fixture on Crosby Road North since 2019, with Laura running it as a family business serving the local community. The café serves breakfast, brunch and smash burgers.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said: “Fire crews were called to a fire at a café on Crosby Road North, Waterloo on Friday, September 26. Crews were alerted at 1.56am and on scene at 2.02am, with two fire engines in attendance.
“Crews arrived to find a three storey building with a café on the ground floor with an alarm sounding within the café and smoke visible through the café window. Crews gained entry through the front door of the café and found a small quantity of dish cloths at the rear of the café smouldering.
“Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus doused the fire with a CO2 extinguisher and a hose reel jet, before removing the affected laundry from the property and damping down. An industrial fan was used to ventilate the café and the flat above the café was checked and found to be unaffected. The café was handed over to the responsible person and crews left the scene at 3.04am.”
How do tea towels spontaneously combust?Tea towels and other laundry used in restaurants and other workplaces can contain higher volumes of fat and oil, even after washingPutting the towels in tumble dryers raises the temperature. If a large bundle is left to cool, heat can be stored in the middle towelsThe mix of high temperatures and fats can cause an exothermic reaction, which can cause a fire to startTumble dryer use: prevention tipsAvoid placing freshly dried laundry which may have come into contact with greases or fat into stacks or piles.Ensure laundry has an opportunity to cool down before it is folded. Air it first before folding, to allow the heat to escape.Always wash tea towels/other similar purpose cloths on a hot wash.Do not leave damp washing in a hot or warm tumble dryer.Check the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure correct and proper use on a day to day basis but also understand any periodic checks or maintenance tasks that are required.Ensure all filters are cleaned as required, there may be more than just the one inside the door which collects the fluff.Overloading a machine can create additional risks of fire, due to the motor having to work harder.If the machine is within a commercial premises, ensure you understand the checks and testing needed and make sure arrangements are in place, either by staff or a contractor, to undertake the required action. Don’t assume someone else is doing the job.If you believe for any reason that the machine is not working correctly or there is a fault, have it checked by a qualified person.