Firefighters make quick work of laundry room fire

Riverhead firefighters extinguished a small blaze in a Kratoville Avenue house Tuesday evening, officials said.

The fire started in a basement laundry room where a basket full of laundry near a gas-fired hot water heater somehow ignited. The fire then started smoldering, setting off a smoke detector shortly after 7 p.m., said Riverhead Fire Chief Nick Luparella.

Smoke did spread through some of the house and the fire hoses caused some water damage in basement, officials said.

There was a meeting at the Riverhead fire headquarters on nearby Roanoke Avenue at the time the fire call came in, so there was a big response, firefighters at the scene said. That response included a 105-foot ladder truck, two support vehicles and three engines.