Fire safety lesson rises from tragedy

Coeur d’Alene Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel said fires such as the one Friday that killed two young brothers are the “worst-case scenario” for firefighters.

“We train for this,” Gabriel said Monday. “But we’re human beings, and nothing prepares you for that.”

The deaths of 4-year-old Christopher Franco and 5-year-old Andre Franco weighed heavy on the minds of area firefighters Monday. Still, the firefighters who fought the blaze are back at work, their attention turned to preventing the next tragedy.

Coeur d’Alene Fire recently purchased 1,000 reflective safety stickers to hand out during Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 8-14.

“We decided, let’s not wait another minute,” Fire Inspector Glenn Lauper said Monday.

The Tot Finder stickers are made to be stuck onto the bottom corner of a child’s bedroom door, helping firefighters identify which rooms in a burning, smoke-filled house may have a child inside.

“If there are four rooms and we know that one has a child in it, we’ll go in there first,” Lauper said.

With Friday’s deadly fire still fresh in people’s minds, fire officials are hoping to get their message of safety across.

“We’re trying to learn from this and immediately go out and educate,” Gabriel said.

Lauper said Friday’s fire, which the victims apparently lit with a cigarette lighter, started on the mattress where the boys slept and spread to the pine paneling on the walls.

Relatives said the boys had played with fire in the past. Signs of small fires were found in areas outside the home, along with lighters, Lauper said.

One relative told investigators that the only lighter in the basement was kept in a sock inside a drawer.

Lauper said the sock was found inside the drawer with no lighter inside. A lighter was found near where the fire started.

Investigators have not determined when the early morning blaze began. Mattresses tend to smolder for some time, Lauper said.

He also said it appeared that the children realized, at some point, that they were in trouble.

Coeur d’Alene police are still awaiting results of autopsies on the boys.

Police Sgt. Christie Wood said no criminal charges are being filed against any of the adults who were home at the time the two children died.

“There is no negligence,” Wood said. “This was a tragic accident. The children’s mother is very, very distraught.”

Wood said there was no smoke detector in the basement of the home at 1520 E. Birch Ave., though there was one upstairs where the children’s mother, her boyfriend and the children’s uncle were sleeping.

City building officials said the basement where the children slept did not conform to fire code, Lauper said.

“There’s a reason they are nonconforming,” he said. “There’s a reason they say you shouldn’t use some basements as a sleeping area for children.”

Jim Lyon, a fire prevention specialist with Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, said parents should understand that most kids, being naturally curious, will experiment with fire at some point.

“It’s just a fascination,” Lyon said. “They need to learn to respect it.”

Lyon meets with every kindergartner in his district and shares the story of two young sisters in Post Falls who saved their grandparents and aunt and uncle when a fire broke out in the family’s home.

“I ask them, ‘How many are old enough to save a grownup?’ and then I tell them the story,” he said. “I tell them they are big kids. They can help. This is what you need to know to help firefighters.”

When it comes to fire safety education, Lauper said it’s important to start teaching children when they’re young. He’s seen 2-year-olds who are able to light a lighter.

“If you suspect your child is playing with fire, contact your local fire department,” he said. The department has screening tools to help parents determine if their child is just curious or if the behavior is more delinquent.

In some cases, they may refer children for a mental health screening.

The fire departments can help families with fire safety, like developing a fire escape plan, he said.

Lyon said one of the biggest things parents of young children can do to prevent fires at home is keep lighters and matches out of reach.

“What parents have to do is reduce the temptation,” he said.