Palo Alto firefighters used a garden hose to extinguish a dryer fire Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 20, at 1:57 p.m. in the 200 block of Margarita Avenue.

After shopping for food for the holidays, the resident returned home and "found her house to be charged with smoke down to the floor," the Fire Department stated in a press release.

Responding firefighters discovered the contents of the gas dryer were on fire. "The fire was knocked down with a garden hose and the dryer was removed from the home," the release stated. There was smoke damage throughout the house but fire damage was limited to the dryer and the utility room, officials said.

The department recommends residents have their dryers and ducting cleaned annually, test smoke detectors monthly, change smoke-detector batteries annually and replace smoke detectors every 10 years.

— Palo Alto Online staff

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