Fire Claims Two Homes Difficult Access Hampers Firefighters’ Efforts

Two homes burned to the ground on the east shore of Twin Lakes Wednesday, killing two dogs and a cat but leaving the homeowners uninjured.

“Things don’t matter, people do,” said a shaken Teri Griffin. “The important thing is, everyone in our family is OK.”

The cause of the blaze had not been determined as of Wednesday.

Griffin and her husband, Mike, were at work and their teenage son was at school when the morning fire broke out at their home north of Rathdrum.

As the blaze worked its way through the first house, firefighters could see the smoke rising into the sky from their station several miles away in Rathdrum, said Chief Wayne Nowacki.

“We were getting into the rig to come out here and see what was burning when we got the call,” Nowacki said.

Firefighters arrived within 15 minutes, but the Griffins’ house was already destroyed and the flames were eating away at their next-door neighbor’s home.

With no fire hydrants in the area, the blaze was difficult to fight.

“There was just too much fire and not enough water,” Nowacki said.

Post Falls and Hayden Lake fire departments were called in to help bring more water to the scene. But the home was nestled back into the woods, with the access roads steeped in snow.

Firefighters were able to get two trucks fairly close, but one got bogged down in the snow. They used long links of yellow hose to carry what water they could to the burning buildings.

“Is the house all gone?” Teri Griffin asked a Kootenai County Sheriff’s Deputy as officials escorted her to the scene of her blackened, smoking home.

The deputy nodded.

“Did you see any animals?” she asked.

“No, I didn’t,” Deputy Joey Bodner said, shaking his head.

Griffin said their two dogs and cat had been in the home. She could not find them wandering around the charred home and believed they were burned in the blaze.

Along with the animals went the family’s belongings. The Griffins live in their lakeside home year round. Their neighbors use the next door lakeside cabin as a summer home. That family’s name was not released Wednesday.

Between the two homes, Nowacki estimated the loss at $300,000.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: FIRE SAFETY TIPS Coeur d’Alene firefighter Ken Gabriel offered the following Christmastime tips to keep home and hearth safe: Be sure the Christmas tree has plenty of water. If the needles fall off or the branches snap, the tree is too dry. Use only Underwriters Laboratories approved lighting for the tree. That means the lighting has been inspected to make sure it’s safe. Keep the tree, presents and stockings far away from fireplaces and heaters - at least three feet. Don’t plug too many lights into an outlet. Instead, use a UL approved power strip. Do not set Christmas lights or other lighted decorations near wrapping paper or other combustibles. Do not leave a room with candles burning. If a fire is burning in the fireplace, make sure a screen covers it to catch flying embers. Turn decorative lights off at night before bed and anytime you leave for an extended period of time.