A clothes dryer caused a fire in the City of Poughkeepsie that displaced 11 people from their Hooker Avenue homes Thursday morning, city firefighters said.
At about 12:30 a.m., about 30 city firefighters responded to a call at 5 Hooker Ave., with firefighters from Fair-view and Arlington assisting.
No injuries were reported and the 11 people inside the two-story building evacuated themselves.
Firefighters believe the fire was caused by a laundry dryer clogged with lint, officials said. Damage to the building was extensive and firefighters believe the building may need to be demolished.
Workers from the Dut-chess County chapter of the American Red Cross assisted the building's occupants with food, clothing and shelter.
This is the third fire the county Red Cross has assisted with in about a week. On Wednesday, Red Cross officials assisted with a fire at about 4 a.m. on North White Street in the city. On Dec. 22, officials said they assisted at a fire in Wappingers Falls.
About $10,000 was spent helping the victims in the three fires, said Jeff Noonan, director of emergency service for Red Cross. Because of the three fires, donations are needed, he said.
