Fire victim owned refrigerant company

The Rathdrum man killed in a mobile home fire Sunday has been identified as Gary M. Lindgren, 65.

Lindgren died of smoke inhalation from an electrical fire caused by the misuse of extension cords, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department announced today. His neighbors called firefighters after seeing smoke from his home, 10278 N. Church Road, about 6:45 p.m.

Neighbors tried dousing the blaze with a garden house, but flames engulfed the home and Lindgren’s body was found about two hours later, the sheriff’s department said. The residence was both Lindgren’s home and office space for his refrigerant company, OZ Technology.

The company touted its air-conditioning refrigerant HC-12a as a cheaper and more effective alternative to other automobile refrigerants, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has banned it from being used for that purpose.

Read about it here.