Rural Larchwood, Iowa — When you hear the words “hotel fire,” you probably assume the worst. But Larchwood Fire Chief Tony DeSmet says this one could have been much worse.
The call came in early on Sunday morning at a few minutes before 6:00 a.m., June 23rd for smoke in the laundry room at the Grand Falls Casino Hotel, west of Larchwood, on the state line.
The chief says they arrived to find the laundry room full of smoke, but the fire or cause of the smoke had been put out before they got there.
He says he was told it started in a wheeled basket full of towels that had been laundered and then started smoking. He says the workers wheeled it to the mop sink and were able to extinguish the source. He says there was smoke in the hotel hallways, which they ventilated. The chief tells us the cause, however, is undetermined.
According to DeSmet, while there was smoke, there was no smoke damage to speak of.
