The source of the fire that destroyed the garage of the Ewa Beach home belonging to state police union President Tenari Ma’afala last Friday could not be determined but appears to have been electrical in nature, Honolulu fire investigators have determined.

Ma’afala told reporters that his wife heard an explosion and saw the garage on fire only minutes after she had placed a load of laundry into a dryer situated there around 5:30 a.m.

There as a “strong possibility”?that the fire started from the dryer, but investigators could not rule out entirely that it might have been caused by some other electrical source in the area, said Capt. Terry Seellig, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman.

There was nothing suspicious about the fire, Seelig said.

The fire was confined mainly to the garage and caused about $100,000 to the structure and contents, which included police gear and sports paraphernalia.