A fire destroyed this Boise warehouse. Investigators couldn’t determine its cause
More than a week after a three-alarm fire in Boise destroyed a warehouse, investigators have said they were unable to determine the cause.
A major fire at an Idaho Youth Ranch location in the 5400 block of West Irving Street on July 18 destroyed a warehouse, and the Boise Fire Department rushed to contain nearby petroleum tanks, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.
The firefighters’ efforts to extinguish the fire made discovering its cause “impractical” and the fire’s cause has been classified as “undetermined,” according to tweets from the fire department. Investigations have ceased.
As crews worked to put out the blaze, they relocated material burning near the fire’s origin and dumped massive amounts of water on the flames, Lynsey Amundson, a spokesperson for the Boise Fire Department, told the Statesman by phone.
About 638,000 gallons of water were used, according to statistics from Veolia Water Company, the department said.
“Unfortunately, with this amount of water used and the removal of items ... to extinguish the fire, determining the cause was impractical,” a tweet read.
Both fire and police investigators worked on finding the cause, Amundson said.
“Unless any new evidence or new information comes forward,” the fire’s cause will remain undetermined, she added.
The Idaho Youth Ranch’s property has been returned to the emergency shelter and thrift store nonprofit, Amundson said. The warehouse where the fire began has been destroyed, according to a news release, and another building was partially damaged.
Fire crews responded to the warehouse on the afternoon of July 18 with over a dozen fire engines and three ladder trucks, according to the release. Three firefighters were injured in the efforts, and one was taken to a hospital in stable condition, according to another release.
Around 50 people were inside the warehouse when the fire began, but there were no reported civilian injuries, authorities said.
Firefighters began attacking the fire from outside the building at around 1:47 p.m. and were able to gain access to it by around 3 p.m., according to Boise Fire Division Chief Aaron Hummel. Crews stayed at the location through the night.
The Youth Ranch’s CEO, Scott Curtis, previously told the Statesman that the fire began outside the warehouse, near where “large cardboard containers” sit with donated goods.
Despite not being able to identify the fire’s cause, Boise fire officials said they concluded that it was not caused by smoking, battery failure, electrical causes, fireworks, operating equipment or arson, according to a tweet.
