Woman dies in mobile home fire in Elk

A woman was killed in a mobile home fire late Wednesday night in Elk.

Spokane Fire District 4 firefighters were called to the secluded, heavily wooded area at 11914 E. Laurel Road about 30 miles north of Spokane just before midnight, where they found the home engulfed in flames.

Two people, Carrie Hathaway, 58, and her longtime partner, Clinton Haaby, were inside the home when the fire broke out, said their son, Marc Hathaway. He said Carrie Hathaway woke up first and alerted Haaby, who was able to escape and grab a neighbor, but the pair were not able to get to Carrie Hathaway out in time.

“He tried to get her,” he said. “He tried to get her out. He tried to break the window and get her out and he couldn’t.”

Marc Hathaway said his mother was suffering from multiple sclerosis and used a wheelchair, which complicated his father’s attempts to get her out of the mobile home.

“He’s taken care of her for the last 25 years,” he said.

Marc Hathaway said the couple had lived in the home for the better part of two decades, and he can remember spending about five years growing up there. He said some of his favorite memories of his mother were around the holidays, when she would spoil the family with treats.

“She’s always been doing that kind of stuff,” he said. “She’s been pretty sick for the last 15 years, but before that she was always going all out.”

While picking through the rubble of the family home Thursday, looking for salvageable items, Marc Hathaway said his mother would always be remembered and appreciated for her personality and ability to make people smile.

“She was always happy,” he said. “My dad made her happy. That’s the hardest part here, ’cause I know he’s going to take this hard.”

He said his father most likely would live with him until they fix up some property on Deer Lake.