Fire hits industrial linen company

Freshly laundered rags, hot out of the dryer, caused a fire at American Linen on Industrial Drive in Santa Rosa on Thursday evening, the company's second fire this year.

Sprinklers in the building came on at 5:28 p.m. when a hanging bag of linens -- whose contents come out of dryers at 400 degrees -- started smoking, Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Andy Pforsich said.

An employee called the fire department seconds after the sprinklers activated. "He was attempting to extinguish the bag with a fire extinguisher, but the building was filled with smoke," Pforsich said.

About $10,000 worth of laundry and $25,000 worth of equipment was lost in the fire.

On March 10, a two-alarm fire at the company was caused when oily bar rags stored inside a container caught on fire. That fire caused $300,000 in damage.

Pforsich said fire sprinklers activated in the building that time as well, saving the business from a total loss.

Because of the two blazes, fire prevention crews will be called in to review the business' safety practices, Pforsich said.

-- Laura Norton