UPDATE: Fire ignited inside police car before spreading to garage
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UPDATE
Fire investigators say a Thursday morning fire started in the engine of an Idaho Falls police car parked in a garage.
The Idaho Falls Fire Department was called to the fire around 7:50 a.m. on the 300 block of Easy Street when someone spotted black smoke coming from a garage behind an apartment complex, according to a news release. Within minutes flames poured from the building, but firefighters were able to get the fire out by 8:11 a.m.
The IFFD Fire Prevention and Investigation Division arrived and found the fire originated in the engine compartment of the 2013 Dodge charger patrol car. The fire department says information indicates the car was not running and had been parked in the garage for at least a week while the officer was off-duty.
“While we were able to determine that the point of origin of the fire was inside the engine compartment, the exact location within the compartment and the cause of the fire is undetermined at this time,” IFFD spokeswoman Kerry Hammon says in a statement.
The officer was not in the garage when the fire ignited, officials say.
No one was injured in the fire that destroyed the patrol car and everything inside valued at $20,000. Two garages also sustained damage in the blaze.
ORIGINAL STORY
IDAHO FALLS —- Firefighters battled a garage fire at an Idaho Falls apartment complex Thursday morning.
The Idaho Falls Fire Department was called to the garages on the 300 block of Easy Street at 7:50 a.m. Flames were coming from one of the garages as smoke poured from the building.
Within minutes of firefighters’ arrival, they had the fire under control.
Idaho Falls Fire Department spokeswoman Kerry Hammon says no injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
EastIdahoNews.com will provide updates when they become available.