Fire destroys garage on city's north side
Members of the Humboldt Fire Department douse a blaze in a garage at 508 2nd Street North, the home of Nile Ropte. At left in the photo is the house, which sustained some smoke and fire damage to the kitchen area of the home. See this and other photos in the next issue of The Humboldt Independent, or online at www.humboldtnews.com. Independent photo by Phil Monson.
By Kent Thompson
A Humboldt man’s garage burned down and the flames caused damage to the northwest corner of his house, Thursday night, Sept. 1.
At 7:41 p.m., the Humboldt Fire and Police departments were called to the scene of a garage on fire at 508 2nd St. N.
“I came home from Rutland and smelled rubber burning. I parked my car in the garage and 30-45 minutes later a boy on a bicycle rang my doorbell and said my garage was on fire,” said Nile Ropte, owner of the garage.
Lost in the blaze was Ropte’s 1997 Chevrolet Camero convertible.
The fire also caused damage to the kitchen area of the home, as well as melting plastic exterior siding. The home is just a few feet south of the garage.
“When we got here the garage was fully engulfed and the fire breathed through the windows and started a burn on the northwest corner of the home in the kitchen area. We quickly ventilated the area and extinguished the fire inside the home. The garage was a total loss and there was a vehicle inside,” Humboldt Fire Chief Jim Gronbach reported.
The car was believed to be the source of the fire, but the department will do further investigation.
The department sprayed water on the home to the north belonging to Debbie Skeeters, 510 2nd St. N. Skeeters said damage to her home was minimal.
The fire department immediately connected MidAmerican Energy who cut power to the residences on the west side of the street, just south of 6th Avenue North.
Read more about this story and see more photos in the Sept. 8 edition of The Humboldt Independent.
