An automatic sprinkler system late last Friday night kept a small fire from spreading at Crabbie's Restaurant in the Kachemak Center, across from the Homer Volunteer Fire Department station on Pioneer Avenue.

The fire caused water and smoke damage to the seafood restaurant and Subway Restaurant next door.

No one was at either restaurant at the time, and there were no injuries from the fire or smoke.

HVFD and Kachemak Emergency Services firefighters responded to the fire about 11:45 p.m. July 31.

The fire began in an employee bathroom at Crabbie's. A heat-activated sprinkler system went on near the fire, putting it out when soggy sheetrock and water fell on the fire.

The fire started from a pile of towels that had been taken out of a dryer in the bathroom, said HVFD Chief Bob Painter.

Investigators believe the towels spontaneously combusted, a chemical process that occurs when combustible materials warm to the ignition point of the material.

Hot towels, especially cotton or cotton-blend towels, can get hotter and catch on fire if not properly cooled down when taken from hot clothes dryers.

Thousands of such fires happen yearly, Painter said, particularly in large commercial kitchens. Oil-soaked rags or towels used to clean up kitchen grease or oil are particularly hazardous.

Painter recommended using the cooling cycle of tumble dryers to make sure towels or other clothing reach a safer temperature. If a dryer doesn't have a cool-down cycle, towels should be taken out, shaken and cooled down manually.

"You just can't leave them piled in a corner," Painter said of hot towels.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong.@homernews.com.