Laundry Fire Forces Early Morning Evacuation at Budget Inn

Guests were forced to evacuate a Parsippany hotel thanks to an early-morning blaze Sunday.

Parsippany Police, the Parsippany-Troy Hills Fire Association District 6 and other responders were on the scene of a two-alarm fire at the Budget Inn on Route 46 East just after 3:30 a.m. Sunday, said District 6 Fire Chief Ron Dimaggio.

The chief told Patch that firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke at the hotel. He said the flames—and eventual damage—was restricted to the laundry room and laundry area of the facility.

He said officials do know that the smoke's source was a load of towels burning in a clothes dryer.

"The night manger was doing laundry," said Dimaggio. "The incident is still under investigation. There is no arson involved, we  just don't know yet whether it was the machine that malfunctioned or whether the dryer was overloaded."

Because gas and electric service had to be disconnected because of the fire, Dimaggio said hotel residents were forced to evacuate the building. He said they were relocated to the Mountain Inn in Mountain Lakes.

"Nobody was hurt," said the chief, who added that the fire was under control and extinguished within 10 minutes.

Also taking part in the firefighting effort were Lake Hiawatha Fire District 4 and Parsippany-Troy Hills Fire District 5, while Lake Parsippany District 3 and the Pine Brook Fire Department were on call for backup area coverage. Parsippany Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue 69 responded to the emergency as well.

Dimaggio said housing and fire officials will inspect the building and determine when the hotel can reopen.