Firefighters raise money for 3-year-old

ST. MARIES – Firefighters have begun raising money for Kyra Wine, a 3-year-old girl who is believed to be a victim of severe child abuse.

“The town is so upset. We needed something to do,” said Lisa Bowen, an administrative assistant with the St. Maries Fire Protection District.

Benewah County sheriff’s deputies say that when they found Wine at her mother’s St. Maries home about two weeks ago, darkened flesh covered her feet from the ankles to the toes, indicating she had been abused or was ailing from untreated frostbite.

The girl remains at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

Firefighters held a benefit for her Friday at their station in Harrison. Three hours into the event, an estimated $3,000 had been raised.

The girl’s mother, Christina Haynes, 26, and her boyfriend, Charles Smith, 29, have been arrested and charged with felonies.

Benewah County Prosecutor Douglas Payne said additional charges could be filed after he consults with the girl’s doctors and obtains more information on her injuries. “It’s depending on what the medical experts say,” Payne said.

Wine has undergone multiple surgeries since she was removed from her mother’s home in June, and she is scheduled for several more, Bowen said Friday.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will go toward the Kyra Wine Benefit Fund.

Bowen said donations are being accepted at the fire district headquarters in St. Maries.