Fire destroys garage

COEUR d'ALENE - A fire that started in a small garage spread into a house at 713 N. Seventh St. early Monday afternoon.

"It appears to be accidental," said Battalion Chief Pete Vandall with the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department.

Traffic was tied up on the busy street as firefighters fought to contain the blaze that did an estimated $30,000 in damage.

The older, 2 1/2-story home was "balloon construction," said Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel, with a pocket of joists extending from the basement to the attic. That method allows a fire to run in a circle around the house, he said.

"It spread to under the eaves," Gabriel said. "We took the ceiling out over the upstairs bath."

Fire inspector Bobby Gonder said because of the extensive damage in the garage, the cause is undetermined. Vandall said a likely cause of the fire was electrical. Other than the contents of the garage, no personal possessions were lost.

Two people were in the home and declined to speak to The Press.

Several fire trucks from Station 1 only three blocks away responded.

"The response time was very fast. I'm glad they are that close," said Diane Olson, a neighbor across Seventh Street. "I was smelling smoke and came outside the moment the trucks arrived, I broke out my hose and started wetting down my trees. The flames were visible above the top of the house. It was pretty scary."