Firefighters battled a blaze that started mysteriously in a pile of clothing in the laundromat at 132 Montague St. tonight. The laundromat was closed at the time of the fire, and the clothing, located on a table toward the rear of the building, was likely smoldering for some time before the flames grew and eventually swept across the ceiling. Stuart Friedman’s optometry business on the floor above was soon affected by the spreading fire, as was an apartment on the second floor. The residents, as well as a dog on the third floor, escaped without injury. This marks the third fire on the south side of Montague St., between Henry and Clinton Sts., in the past two years. The most recent was on September 9, 2008, and before that on March 26, 2007.
