'A complete loss'

HAYDEN — Fire crews worked through the night and were still on site 18 hours after Ballard Golf Cars and Power Sports caught fire Tuesday evening.

The building at 11494 N. Warren St. was consumed by flames after a fire broke out in the work bays where maintenance and repair equipment is kept.

"It is a total loss,” Northern Lakes Fire Protection District Deputy Fire Marshal Chris Larson said Wednesday. "We do have the showroom and some office space still intact but there's a lot of smoke and water damage. It’s a complete loss."

He said the cause is "accidental or unknown," not suspicious.

He estimated it would cost at least $2.5 million to replace just the building.

"That's just an estimate from the market, that doesn’t include all the tools and different equipment" that was lost, Larson said.

The fire was first reported at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

"When crews arrived on scene there was smoke coming from the eaves and they saw flames breach through one of the windows," Larson said. "It went from a second alarm and grew to a third alarm."

He said this is "a substantial hit" not just to the owners, but to the employees, their families and to the community.

"The owners are going through a grieving process right now," Larson said. "It’s emotional, it's their livelihood."

He said for this to happen when building materials are in short supply, "it's going to take some time for them to be able to replace what they had."

Northern Lakes, Coeur d'Alene Fire, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue and Timberlake Fire, Hauser Lake Fire and Mica Kidd Island Fire districts responded. Deputies from Kootenai County Sheriff's Office secured the scene.

Larson complimented the quick work of the 911 dispatchers.

"They did an excellent job of being able to send resources and send help all through the night," he said. "They are the unsung heroes of our community."