An explosion and shop fire rocked a detached garage shortly after noon Friday, Dec. 2.
Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District personnel responded to find the roof gone on the 20- by 24-foot garage at 41616 Shady Lane, which was completely destroyed. The cause could not determined due to the extent of the burning, Battalion Chief Randy Whitfield said.
“The only heat source that we could discover in talking with the homeowner is a wood stove he had,” Whitfield said. “He had stoked that the night before.”
Hastings said he opened the door to his garage before he called the fire department, and the fire really took off inside.
“That’s kind of indicative that the fire had been smoldering for a while,” Whitfield said.
Whitfield noted that the structure and most of the equipment inside was a complete loss. He estimated the damages to be $65,000 to $70,000 for the structure itself, and $90,000 for the equipment inside.
A second garage fire broke out at 3:31 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 1924 18th Ave.
SHFAD reported that embers or ash from the vent for a pellet stove in the garage sparked needles on the ground, which spread to the structure.
The 18th Avenue fire resulted in an estimated $50,000 in property loss and $25,000 in contents lost before it was put out, according to the fire department.