Fire destroys garage near Post Falls

POST FALLS — A fire destroyed a garage south of Post Falls on Tuesday night causing an estimated $75,000 worth of damage.

The contents lost during the blaze at 863 S. Star Garnet Road included a 2015 Subaru wagon, a riding lawn mower and a sauna, according to Kootenai County Fire and Rescue officials.

"The official cause of the incident is undetermined after the investigation and accidental in nature," said Capt. Jeryl Archer, KCFR's fire marshal. "My working hypothesis is that discarded supplies from a linseed oil staining project were the cause of the fire.

"The occupant was alerted of the fire by a neighbor and the fire was contained to the shop with some radiant heat damage to the residence."

There were no injuries.

KCFR Chief Warren Merritt said the owner of the property was inside the home and unaware the shop was on fire. The homeowner is David Atkinson, according to Kootenai County records.

KCFR responded to the fire at 6:55 p.m. and found the 32-by-40 shop fully engulfed.

"This endangered the residence, which was less than 10 feet from the shop," Merritt said. "The smoke was seen from as far away as Hayden, per an off-duty chief officer."

Merritt said Atkinson told him the property is insured. He said the quick work by firefighters saved the home from major damage.

"While the shop was a total loss, there was only minor damage to the residence — two broken windows from the heat and some heat and fire damage to the siding of the house," Merritt said.

Hauser Lake Fire, Northern Lakes Fire, Mica Kidd Island Fire District and Coeur d'Alene Fire assisted KCFR during the incident.