Spontaneous combustion to blame in fire

SANDPOINT — Spontaneous combustion of finishing oils is the suspected cause of a blaze that leveled a home on Baldy Mountain on Sunday morning, Westside Fire District Chief Mike Tucker said.

There were no injuries, although the home was a compete loss.

Deputies investigating a traffic accident from the day before noticed smoke in the 11,000 block of Baldy Mountain Road at around 8 a.m. and raised the alarm.

“It had been burning for quite a while,” said Tucker.

The home’s occupants were away when the fire started. The homeowners told Tucker they were in the process of refinishing a staircase in the home.

Finishing products such as linseed and tung oils are known to combust without an external ignition source under certain circumstances. Such substances slowly release heat and if the heat is unable to escape, it can surpass a material’s ignition point.

“It appears it was accidental,” Tucker said, adding that heat and burn patterns were indicative of spontaneous combustion.

Spontaneous combustion was found to be the cause of an August 2006 fire near Dover which destroyed an outbuilding and several vehicles. Investigators determined the fire was caused by improperly stored lumber which had recently been treated with linseed oil.

Firefighters from Westside and Northside Fire District filled up water tenders using fire hydrants in the city. Working in the 18-degree cold, firefighters managed to spare an adjacent shop building from destruction, Tucker said.

Wind gusts of up to 35 miles an hour intensified the blaze.

“The wind just accelerated the fire tremendously,” said Tucker.

Tucker estimated damage to the home and its contents to be about $285,000, but cautioned that it was a very rough estimate. The structure was insured, according to Tucker.

“Anything else can be replaced, but life can’t. We were glad nobody was injured,” he said.