Hot towels spark restaurant fire

Hot towels removed from a clothes dryer and left in a pile started to smoulder and eventually caught fire, causing extensive damage to a Hobart restaurant, authorities say.

Crews were called to the Bellerive address on Monday evening where downstairs flames were extinguished and CCTV later showed how the fire started.

"This is an example of what can easily happen when hot laundry is removed from a dryer before it completes the cool-down cycle: the hot material, when left in a pile can continue to heat until it catches fire," the Tasmania Fire Service said in a statement, adding it caused about $30,000 of damage.