BELLINGHAM - A garage in northwest Bellingham was destroyed by fire Sunday afternoon, Nov. 13, after a woman tried to start up a cold smoker she'd built using instructions from a YouTube video.

About 4 p.m., the woman tried several times to start up the smoker but without much success, said Bellingham Fire Marshal Jason Napier. The cold smoker was made from a cardboard box and was located in a detached garage about 30 feet from the woman's house in the 2800 block of Cottonwood Avenue.

The woman, who was in her 20s, and the other occupant of the home left for about 10 minutes to grab a to-go meal from a nearby restaurant, Napier said. When they returned, smoke was billowing out from under the garage door. They opened it, saw flames and ran to a neighbor's house to borrow a fire extinguisher.

They were unable to extinguish it themselves, Napier said. Firefighters could only contain the blaze, so the garage and two attached car ports were destroyed. Nobody was injured and no vehicles were damaged.

The woman told firefighters she had built the cold smoker to make smoked meat and cheese.

No property damage estimate was available as of Monday, Napier said.