No foul play suspected in Sunny Slopes structure fire

OSBURN ­— Following two separate investigations by local officials and an independent consulting company, the house fire that occurred in the Sunny Slopes area of Osburn on Aug. 16 has been officially declared an accident.

According to Aaron Cagle, Shoshone County Fire District No. 1 Chief, the structure caught fire when a five-gallon propane tank on the home’s backyard deck exploded because of a smaller fire underneath it, raising its temperature.

This type of explosion is what firefighters refer to as a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion).

The propane tank was connected to a grill/smoker combination unit that was sitting on top of a ground level wooden deck.

Underneath the deck were other combustibles, including old pallet wood.

Cagle said the smaller fire was caused by an accumulation of grease under the deck catching fire. The smaller grease fire then smoldered for hours until mother nature gave it a boost, he said.

“With weather conditions the way they were... it’s very easy for a fire like that to smolder as a small ember until the right wind conditions pick up — which they did that afternoon,” Cagle said.

As the fire grew under the deck, the propane tank’s temperature rose until the pressure was too much inside.

“All it takes is that little bit of flame beneath the tank and it can explode,” Cagle said.

He thinks the grease came from repeated use of the smoker and grill over time.

“The thing with their smoker, and with anyone’s smoker, is that it tends to drip grease,” Cagle said.

Homeowners Zachary and Cara Cox told Cagle the day of the fire that they had been using the smoker portion of the unit the night before.

Statements taken from the neighbors by Lance Hart, the independent investigator with Hart & Mehaffey Consulting out of Nine Mile Falls, Wash., back up Cagle’s official report by saying that smoke was seen coming from the building’s north side around 9 a.m. that day.

The neighbors, unaware that Zachary, Cara, and their two sons had left the house at 6:30 a.m. for a doctor’s appointment in Coeur d’Alene, assumed that the Cox family was using their smoker again like they had the previous night.

After two hours of smoke, the neighbors were rattled when they heard a large boom, and pieces of debris began to fall on their houses shortly after 11 a.m.

Emergency crews received the alarm call to respond at 11:20 a.m.

Whether the grease fire under the deck was caused by hot debris from the smoker falling and igniting the grease pile or hot grease dripping from the smoker and igniting something under the deck, Cagle was adamant that “there is no evidence to suggest any foul play from any party.”

The Shoshone News-Press contacted Hart & Mehaffey Consulting for a copy of their findings. However, because the firm was hired by the family’s insurance company and not a public entity, the firm would not release the information.

Hart did confirm, though, that they had also concluded the cause was accidental.

Due to the findings by both of these entities, the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office is not investigating the incident for foul play and the State Fire Marshal was not called to conduct its own investigation.

Cagle said that if there was a reason to call for a closer look, he certainly would have.

“There were no signs (of foul play),” he said. “If there had been one single sign of anything — obvious, erroneous, or out of the ordinary — then we would have done a more in-depth investigation and brought in the State Fire Marshal’s Office.”

He added that the only thing found by fire crews underneath the grill/ smoker unit were small bits of grease that were left over.

“If there would have been some sort of incendiary device, we would have (found) something,” he concluded.

The residence was declared a total loss and the family’s two dogs both perished in the fire.

A crowdfund has been set up to raise money for the family.

To donate, visit youcaring.com and search “Help Zach & Cara Cox after losing their home” in the search bar.

In-person/physical donations can be dropped off at Hayman’s Auto Body & Towing located at 60664 Silver Valley Road, Wallace.