Morning blaze kills mother of two

A mother of two couldn’t make it out of a burning house Thursday and died in the fire that grew too hot for her boyfriend to attempt a rescue, a witness and a friend said.

Shannon Suksdorf, 38, died in the fire as her live-in boyfriend, Timothy Lively, tried to save her, said Lively’s brother, James Lively, who witnessed the blaze.

James Lively, 58, was staying in a camper behind the home at 16212 S. Maple Road when he heard dogs barking. Then he heard 41-year-old Timothy Lively yelling.

“When I got there, (Timothy) was trying to get back in through the front door and flames were pouring out,” he said. “I went back to the bedroom window, and flames were pouring out of that, too.”

The couple’s 6-year-old son and Suksdorf’s 14-year-old daughter left for school before the 8:40 a.m. fire, Lively said.

“He said he woke up and there were flames pouring down the hallway. He got out and he heard (Shannon) yelling. He told her to get to the front door,” James Lively said. Timothy “was yelling and crying and calling her to get out of the house. And that was it.”

A heavy fog shrouded the area in southwest Spokane County near Spangle.

“It was so foggy, you couldn’t see no fire until you got right there,” James Lively said, pointing to the driveway of the home. “I ran down to the corner house and had them call the fire department.”

Spokane County Fire District 3 responded with aid from Fire District 8, Deputy Chief Kelly Jennings said.

“The fire was fully involved and through the roof when we got here,” he said. “It did have a jump on us. We were able to separate the fire from the garage. We have no idea how it started.”

Huge plumes of white smoke billowed out of the charred shell of the house.

Only the chimney and a few feet of the exterior walls remained standing.

Spokane County sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said a deputy was investigating the fire.

“But the last I heard, there was nothing to indicate it was anything other than an accidental fire,” he said.

Family friend Ray Bell said Timothy Lively took the news hard.

Bell arrived Thursday as crews were fighting the blaze. He came to pick up Timothy Lively for work, he said.

Bell later took clothes to Lively and spoke with him after he was released from a Spokane hospital.

Lively was treated and released for burns on his hands and cuts.

“He’s all beside himself. He’s kind of in shock,” Bell said.

“He tried to get her out. He said it was terribly hot. He just about went for broke and went in. But if he did, he’d be gone, too.”

Lively and Suksdorf had been living together for about 11 or 12 years. They had a son six years ago and Suksdorf had a 14-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, Lively said.

“He was waiting for them to get home from school” to tell them about their mother’s death, Bell said.

As fire crews worked to douse the last flames, James Lively watched from a distance.

He leaned against a car in the cold and stared at the smoke through bloodshot eyes.

He said in the past he’s lost a cousin, a couple of dogs and had his mother severely burned in fires.

“Now this,” he said. “It is a shock.”