East Dubuque Firefighters Respond To Fire at Retirement Facility

East Dubuque Fire Chief Joe Heim said a completed investigation hasn’t indicated the exact cause of a small dryer fire that injured an employee at Bell Tower Retirement Community Saturday afternoon, except that it was accidental in nature. East Dubuque firefighters arrived on the scene around 1:35 p.m. and remained at the facility until around 5 p.m. An employee used a fire extinguisher on the blaze, shut the dryer door and the door to the laundry room which kept the fire in check until firefighters  got there. Reports say some residents were evacuated from the memory care unit that was right next door to the laundry room. Other residents were shifted to different parts of the facility during the fire.