Aidan Brezonick-KTVB

This home on Alfred Street in Boise was badly damaged by fire Tuesday afternoon.

BOISE -- Firefighters in Meridian and Boise were kept busy Tuesday afternoon battling two separate blazes.

One was at 11965 W. Alfred Street in west Boise, near Hewlett-Packard, in the Demeyer Park area.

No one was home at the time of the fire. Fire crews managed to rescue two dogs inside the home.

Investigators say the fire started from a cigarette in a flower pot on the back deck.

A Boise Fire official estimates the damage to the home at around $125,000.

A second two-alarm fire broke out around 4 p.m. at a home at 603 W. Criterion near downtown Meridian.

Fire officials tell us that a man was working inside his garage with a flame cutting torch when his pants caught fire. The flames spread to the rest of the garage and damaged part of the home. The man escaped without injury.

The fire melted part of a natural gas line, which continued to fuel the flames. Firefighters doused one of their own with water and he was able to turn off the gas.

A total of seven fire engines were dispatched to the fire - five from Meridan and two from Boise.

Crews were able to knock down the flames and contain the fire in about 25 minutes.

With reporter Scott Evans in Meridian.