Thomasville Fire Rescue partners with textile company to help residents affected by structure fires

THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WALB) - Thomasville Fire Rescue has partnered with a textiles company to provide a new resource for families affected by structure fires.

According to the release, 1-800 Textiles offers a resource called Textiles Cares. The resource provides laundry services for two to three days of essential clothing to homeowners facing a loss due to fire, storm or flood damage.

“When fire damage occurs, many homeowners are not only facing the loss of a home but of most of their belongings,” Thomasville Fire Rescue Chief Tim Connell said.

Laundry damaged by fire is usually damp or wet with a smoky smell which causes bacterial growth, the release said.

According to the release, extensive fire damage can leave residents with a heavy financial and emotional burden and recovery of laundry items depends on how quickly they can be laundered after the incident.

“By the time a fire is extinguished and damage is assessed, our experience has been to tell the homeowner that their clothing cannot be salvaged due to smoke damage, so we’re excited to know there are additional resources that can potentially assist them,” Connell said.

The partnership will provide Thomasville residents with a laundry bag that can be filled with essential clothing that has been affected by fire, flood or storm damage, the release said.

According to the release, items in the bag will be cleaned and returned within 24 hours, free of charge. Other soft goods like a special blanket or favorite stuffed animal can be included in the bag for cleaning.

“This is a ministry for us,” 1-800 Textiles Territory Manager Christi Murray said. “We want to help return things back to a sense of normalcy and the little things like knowing you have the comfort of your own clothes is important to our company.”

According to the release, Thomasville Fire Rescue will connect residents with Textiles Cares during emergency situations.

For additional information, residents are encouraged to contact Thomasville Fire Rescue at (229) 227-4099.

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