Fire destroys garage in Post Falls
<p>This fire in the 2400 block of Bunchgrass Drive in the Fieldstone subdivision of Post Falls destroyed a garage and damaged a neighbor's home on Thursday night.</p>
POST FALLS - A fire destroyed the garage of a Post Falls home Thursday night, and the heat was so intense it melted the siding and blew out a window of a neighbor's residence.
Kootenai County Fire and Rescue responded to the 2400 block of Bunchgrass Drive in the Fieldstone subdivision at 7:23 p.m. and found intense fire coming from the garage, Chief Warren Merritt said.
"The fire was endangering another residence to the south," Merritt said.
No one was home when the fire started, Merritt said. The fire was believed to be electrical in nature and not suspicious, he said.
The fire destroyed a garage and its contents and extended to the attic. A second-floor window of a neighbor's home was broken and the vinyl siding from top to bottom on one side melted due to the heat.
"The fire was brought under control in about 30 to 40 minutes," Merritt said.
Linda Reed, who lives in the neighborhood, said the fire caused a lot of commotion in the normally quiet subdivision.
"It caused some traffic jams because of people eyeballing it," she said. "People also drove into a vacant field to watch it."
Merritt said the owner of the home was down the street assisting a neighbor with some work when the fire started. The family of six includes four children.
The family has friends in the area, so American Red Cross assistance was not needed to provide temporary housing, Merritt said.
"Multiple residents in the area provided immediate assistance with clothing and diapers for the kids," Merritt said.
Kootenai County Firefighters Local 2856 also assisted with a cash donation.
Crews remained on scene about four hours for salvage and the investigation. Coeur d'Alene Fire and Northern Lakes also responded. Hauser Lake Fire assisted with staffing a station until off-duty firefighters arrived to help re-staff it.