Duke House Fire Caused By Motor Fire Marshal Determines Cause Of $300,000 Blaze

An overheated motor in a new refrigerator sparked the blaze that destroyed a summer home owned by Patty Duke and her husband, fire investigators said Tuesday.

The couple bought the refrigerator this summer when they remodeled the secluded, three-story home on Lake Coeur d’Alene north of Harrison, Idaho.

Damage is estimated at $300,000, said Glenn Lauper, deputy state fire marshal.

The Monday afternoon fire destroyed several of Duke’s acting awards. The actress’ Oscar and Emmys were not in the house.

Fire also consumed family pictures, antiques dating back to the 1800s and the original print of one of Duke’s movies.

“She was very, very saddened and very heartbroken,” Michael Pearce said after talking to Duke, his wife.

But, he added, “We’re healthy and nobody got hurt, and you can’t ask for more than that.”

The couple lives in Coeur d’Alene but spent weekends and summers at the Harrison-area home, located on 40 acres. It was the first house the couple bought when they moved to North Idaho, Pearce said.

The couple had to remodel much of the home after pipes burst and flooded the house last winter. Among the things they replaced was the refrigerator, Pearce said.

Pearce went to the summer home Monday morning. Duke has been in California filming a television movie and he wanted to prepare the house for a weekend retreat when she returned.

The power to the refrigerator and the home had been turned off earlier this winter. But on Monday, Pearce turned it back on and then left. When he returned in the afternoon, the house was gutted.

The refrigerator engine overheated after the power was turned back on, Lauper said, catching the vinyl floor on fire.

“We don’t know what we’re going to do yet,” Pearce said Tuesday. “(But) we love the land, we’re not going to give it up.”

, DataTimes