Mandan police and fire officials said they don't suspect foul play in two fires that burned a house and mobile home last week.

A fire in the 3904 35th Ave. N.W. home of Sheldon and Rosie Johnson April 29 started in the northeast corner of the garage. Mandan Police Detective Paul Leingang said they haven't determined the exact cause but have it narrowed to a couple possibilities. He said investigators suspect it was a spark from a refrigerator or a cigarette that ignited fuel vapors.

"We're not going to be able to reach an absolutely conclusive decision as to what caused it," Leingang said.

The Johnsons were at the movies in Bismarck when 15-foot flames consumed their garage and parts of the house. Three cats, a dog and a bird died in the fire, but the Johnsons' three children weren't home.

The Johnsons' insurance company also investigated the blaze.

An overloaded extension cord appeared to be the cause of a, April 28 fire that destroyed a 100 Third St. mobile home in the El Rancho mobile home park.

Leingang said electricity to the mobile home was shut off, so the homeowner, Beverly Harper, ran an extension cord from a neighbor's mobile home. The fire originated in a back bedroom, and Harper's 14-year-old son and a cat escaped without injury before firefighters arrived.

"There were all kinds of appliances running off the one extension cord," Leingang said.

(Reach reporter Mike Albrecht at 250-8261 or cops@ndonline.com.)