Spontaneous combustion causes fire at Madison east side deli, officials say

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Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. A fire at Stalzy's Deli Sunday night was caused by the spontaneous combustion of small kitchen towels, the Madison Fire Department said Monday.

Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.







Madison firefighters responded to a fire caused by the spontaneous combustion of towels containing cooking oil residue at an east side deli Sunday night.

At approximately 8:30 p.m., crews responded to Stalzy’s Deli on the 2700 block of Atwood Avenue.

The fire was mostly contained to the kitchen and caused substantial damage to the property, according to a fire department report. Initial control of the fire was achieved at 8:40 p.m. and the fire was completely extinguished by 8:54 p.m.

The cause of the fire was determined to be the spontaneous combustion of small kitchen towels that had cooking oil residue, despite being washed, fire officials said. The towels never fully cooled down from drying and spontaneously ignited in wire baskets.

The deli staff took approximately 50 small towels used for cooking and cleaning purposes to the laundromat, according to a press release. The towels were washed with traditional detergents. After washing, the towels were dried at a high temperature for 60 minutes, then placed in wire baskets and stored under a prep table at the restaurant where they later ignited.

Due to the age of the building, it had no sprinklers. Damage estimates are still being obtained.

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COPYRIGHT 2020 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.