Fire burns down family owned laundromat

A fire tore through a family owned business overnight Tuesday before firefighters were able to contain the fire.

Rummaging through the charred remains Maple Street Laundromat owners Charlene and Don Dewey looked over the damage to their business after the fire.

“We lost dry cleaner, and we lost all the dry cleaning and washings and ironing’s everything’s gone,” Don Dewey said.

Doubled as dry cleaners, the first in Blackfoot’s history, the business had been in the Dewey Family for over 40 years.

Local residents poured in and to offer their support as many of them have been loyal customers for years.

Blackfoot Firefighters responded to a call around 12:30 early Tuesday morning from an off-duty police officer who spotted smoke coming from the business.

“They came to our home and woke us up, and told us that out laundromat was on fire,” said Charlene.

It took four hours for Firefighters to put the fire out, they believe it started in the back of the laundromat.

Charlene described the incident as a speed bump.

“We’ll get through it; it’s going to take a while.”

Fire investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire.