Bottle Rockets Blamed For Fire

Two boys playing with bottle rockets are suspected of sparking a fire that razed two detached garages in minutes in northwest Spokane Wednesday night.

Spokane Fire crews responded to a call at 3711 W. Queen at 6:50 p.m. The garage was engulfed and gone in less than five minutes, said Lt. Rich Hansen. The fire jumped to a garage on the lot next door at 3707 W. Queen and it was engulfed. The fire raced along a wooden fence to the next property when firefighters put it out, Hansen said. “That’s how conflagrations start,” he said.

The homeowner at Alameda and Queen, the next house down, was on his roof with a hose as the fire advanced, Hansen said.

Two 11-year-olds were apparently playing with bottle rockets in the garage when the fire broke out, Hansen said. The boys ran inside the home and an adult called 911, he said.

Fire investigator Lt. Michael Zambryski was called to interview the boys and determine whether any charges will be filed, Hansen said.

Denny Thompson, landlord of the house at 3707 W. Queen, said he lost two pop machines, two candy machines and a hot water tank among many other items in the garage.

In a separate incident Tuesday afternoon, firefighters extinguished a garage fire at 3203 N. Smith that threatened the apartment buildings that surround it.

The fires remain under investigation.