Employee injured after dryer fire at Sycamore hotel

SYCAMORE – One employee suffered a minor injury from a dryer fire that broke out Sunday at a Sycamore hotel, authorities said Monday.

Authorities from the Sycamore Fire Department responded to reports of a fire at 9 a.m. Sunday at Best Western Inn, 1935 DeKalb Ave., according to a Monday news release from the fire department. Damage did not appear visible from the outside of the building as of Monday afternoon.

When crews arrived, they brought the fire under control “within minutes,” according to the news release. Damage was limited to the dryer and items nearby.

Crews also ventilated the building since there was “significant amounts of smoke” concentrated on the first floor, authorities said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Authorities report the dryer fire caused an estimated $30,000 in damages to the hotel building and another $15,000 to the contents inside the building.

A hotel employee reported a minor injury, which was treated by paramedics on the scene and did not require hospitalization, according to the department. Neither guests nor firefighters reported injuries.

Crews from DeKalb, Hampshire, Genoa-Kingston, Elburn and Countryside, and Burlington assisted in the response. Sycamore police also responded.

Multiple unrelated 911 calls for paramedics in Sycamore came in during the fire response, so mutual aid crews from across the county assisted in those calls, according to the fire department.