Fire that destroyed gazebo on Gina’s Design Studio roof caused by smoking, fire officials say

Smoking on the roof of Gina’s Design Studio on Second Avenue caused an accidental fire Saturday that destroyed a gazebo on top of the third floor of the business, fire officials said Wednesday.

Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said the blaze was caused by smoking materials at a designated smoking area on the roof.

Plumes of black and white smoke were seen in the downtown Spokane area at around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, with fire officials showing up soon after.

At the scene, Spokane Fire Battalion Chief Mike Bacon said at one point the flames had reached 30 to 40 feet in height, and it looked much worse from afar before crews set to work on containing the fire.

The building was largely undamaged, though the gazebo on the roof was completely torched, Schaeffer said. Water damage to the third-floor apartment space also made the room untenable for several hours, but as of Wednesday it was reopened for use.

The owner had insurance on the building, and Gina’s Design Studio was not damaged in the fire. One tenant was inside when the building caught fire, but they got out before the smoke worsened.

No one was injured, though one person went to the hospital on their own after they ran in to grab their co-worker’s dog, Bacon said at the scene.

It took crews about an hour to stop the fire, and they did not have to evacuate any nearby residences or businesses.