Rubbermaid Wins Fire Suit

Rubbermaid Inc. has been spared blame in the New Year’s Day 1992 fire that scorched the Idaho Statehouse.

The blaze, which started in a Rubbermaid wastebasket, caused $3.5 million damage to the Capitol. Most of the cost was covered by the state’s insurers. This week, 4th District Court jurors decided 9-3 that the company was not legally responsible for the fire.

The blaze began after an attorney general’s employee tossed smoldering cigarette butts from an ashtray into the wastebasket. The suit contended the melting wastebasket added fuel to the fire.

An appeal isn’t likely.