KINGSTON — No one was injured in a small fire June 24 at Bay View Estates.

The fire, which appeared to start near the back of a dryer in the connective flexible tube, caused minimal damage. North Kitsap Fire & Rescue were alerted to the fire at 11 a.m., and the incident commander, Rick LaGrandeur, said the fire appeared to be out by the time they arrived on the scene.

“There was nothing but some white smoke coming out of the tube,” LaGrandeur said.

According to LaGrandeur, lint somewhere in the tube connecting the dryer to the metal exhaust pipe “got hot enough to catch fire and burn up some backed-up lint within the tube.”

Building owner Dese Simpson said the fire started when a construction worker was replacing a vent.

The worker, David Bublat of Matthew Hamilton Construction, said, “I was just replacing one of the covers … and just noticed smoke coming out. At one point, there was an observation of flames.”

Simpson, who was home when the fire started, said she only saw smoke, but “it was pretty scary no matter what.”

Bublat said, “Seems coincidental there was a fire the same time I was doing repairs. I’m thankful that we were able to catch it quick. There was a quick response from the fire department; that was nice.”

After the fire appeared to be over, firefighters cut into the apartment ceiling to check the pipe and ensure the fire was completely out.

“What we’re most concerned about at this point is making sure the fire was contained to that metal tube, it didn’t get outside and endanger the other structural members, which is what we’re working on now,” LaGrandeur said. “Doesn’t appear that it did.”

He said that it appeared all the damage occurred to the dryer unit and the flexible tube.

LaGrandeur said that fires like this aren’t very common; usually, dryer fires tend to start in the lint trap inside the unit itself.