Couple saved by telephone bell

A long-distance phone call woke Thad and Sonja Blauert on Monday night as their Spokane Valley home filled with smoke. They dashed outside to safety and spent the night watching firefighters tear apart their home to reach the flames inside the walls and ceiling.

“They were here in just a few minutes,” Thad Blauert said. “They were just like army ants all over. They were awesome.”

The trouble started early in the evening when Blauert lighted the wood stove in their home at 11904 E. Valleyway Ave. The stove is their only source of heat and had been used all winter. With the arrival of spring, some birds apparently built a nest in the small space where the metal stovepipe came out the side of the home and connected to the cement chimney.

Blauert noticed some smoke and found the smoldering nest, pulling it down and wetting down the outside wall. The fire appeared to be out and the couple went to sleep in anticipation of Blauert’s early morning departure for a job in Montana. The phone woke them about 9:30 p.m.

“The paint started blistering,” said Valley Fire Deputy Fire Marshal Kevin Miller. “It got into the wall. It traveled up in the floor joists. A little fire did quite a bit of damage. We had to take apart the house to put out the fire.”

On Tuesday, the Blauerts met with their insurance representative as they stood in their ruined living room. The ceiling in the living and dining rooms has been ripped apart, revealing blackened wood and asbestos insulation. Daylight is visible through the wall behind the stove.

Sonja Bauert said she’s grateful her children weren’t home when the fire started. Her 9-year-old son’s room is directly above the stove. The family plans to stay with friends while they rebuild.

“It’s just material things,” Thad Blauert said.