Blaze destroys Riverside Auto building

BONNERS FERRY — Bill Hiatt Sr. watched helplessly as the heat from a 12:23 p.m. Monday fire blew out his office windows, and smoke and flames surged, destroying Riverside Auto Center.

Even as Hiatt watched, he vowed to rebuild the Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep dealership his father brought to Bonners Ferry 38 years ago.

“We have insurance to cover all this and we will rebuild,” he said. “We don’t have a clue what has been ruined — titles and paperwork. We concentrated on getting everyone out.”

“You never know when you come to work what’s going to happen,” added his son, Bill Hiatt Jr., who is president of Riverside Auto Center. “We were just starting to roll again. That’s the sad part.”

About 15 people from the dealership and Deborah Youngwirth’s CPA office, which occupied a second-floor office, escaped the four-alarm blaze unharmed.

Bonners Ferry firefighter Gary Falcon was treated at Boundary Community Hospital reportedly for an injured ankle.

As of late Monday afternoon, Bonners Ferry Assistant Fire Chief John Youngwirth could not say anything about the fire’s cause. The investigation was just beginning.

The building that burnt down occupied the dealership’s showroom and offices. The service and auto body shops are in a separate building about 50 yards from the building that was destroyed.

There were no cars in the showroom at the fourth-generation dealership when the fire broke out.

“We just sold the truck we had on the showroom floor,” Hiatt said. “We just sold it and moved it outside minutes before the fire started.”

He also lost collectibles and personal items located in his second-floor office, which is where it’s believed the fire started.

Hiatt said he noticed the smoke. His grandson, Josh Hawks, ran upstairs. When they saw the fire was rapidly growing, they ran downstairs and got everyone out of the building.

Hawks said he smelled smoke a couple of minutes before the fire broke out.

“I was out in front and saw my grandpa run upstairs,” Hawks said. “Smoke was coming from his office. We called 911 and gathered everyone up as fast as we could and got everyone out.”

Sher Aucutt, a former emergency medical technician and firefighter, was coming out of nearby Larson’s Department Store when she saw the smoke. 

“Two seconds later I saw the flames and then the whole building was engulfed with the flames,” said Aucutt. “I have never seen a building go up that fast.”

Riverside salesman Ken Yount spotted the fire from the South Hill when returning to the dealership.

“I hope the second floor is tough so it won’t come down on my office,” Yount said as he watched firefighters battle the blaze as temperatures hovered around 90.

He lost family and wedding pictures that Drexel Love of Moyie Springs had given him on Saturday. Love found them among photos during the All School Reunion at Boundary County Fairgrounds last weekend.

“I picked up the photos and delivered them so they would be safe,” Love said. “I always worry about a fire.”

Just minutes before the fire, Connie Hamlin went to Riverside in hopes of buying her first-ever new car. The 64-year-old Bonners Ferry woman planned to take advantage of a $1 billion federal stimulus plan that will give her $4,500 for trading in her 16-year-old vehicle.

“We were going to buy a Chevy Aveo, but (salesman) Ken Yount wasn’t there,” Hamlin said.

She ran over to the nearby Safeway for a few things.

“By the time we got into the checkout line, I heard Riverside was burning,” she said. “I just sold my home in St. Maries and I’ve got some cash. I can’t believe it.”

Riverside Auto Center was started in Sandpoint as Lakeshore Motors. Owner Fran Hiatt expanded the business in 1971 to Bonners Ferry, selling Datsuns. Bill Hiatt Sr., who is Fran’s son, and Bill’s wife, Linda, in 1974 moved to Bonners Ferry, where they co-owned the dealership with Fran Hiatt.

Riverside Auto Center was first opened in a separate nearby building, which is now the service and body shop department. Twenty-five years ago, Bill Hiatt Sr. spent $100,000 to renovate the building that was destroyed.

South Boundary, Paradise Valley and North Bench fire departments assisted.