Three homes damaged in fire

POST FALLS – A fund has been set up to assist a Post Falls couple and their two young children whose rental house and its contents were heavily damaged by fire Sunday afternoon.

Donations to the Mike and Kim Anderson fund are being accepted at all U.S. Bank branches. The couple’s children are 2 and 4 years old.

The house was one of two in Post Falls’ Montrose subdivision that caught fire at about 2:30 p.m. Firefighters arrived about seven minutes later, said Jim Lyon, spokesman for the Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Department.

Witnesses said they first spotted fire on the upper-level back deck at 1140 W. Deschutes. That home belongs to Jim and Tokiko Cook, who run a business from the premises.

The home’s vinyl siding began to melt and fall off, spreading the fire to a common fence and the Andersons’ house at 1120 W. Deschutes.

Both families were home at the time. Though some of them were napping, they all escaped unharmed, said Lyon.

Cause of the fire has not been determined.

The Cooks estimate they lost about $43,000 in personal and business items. An estimate of damages to the house has not been completed.

The Andersons did not have insurance. Their house had “extensive fire damage to the attic and upper structure with extensive water damage to the interior,” Lyon said.

Some furniture and personal items were salvaged.

Both families were able to move their cars in time to prevent them from being damaged.

Lyon said the wind was a concern, so the first fire crews went into defense mode and watered down neighboring homes to prevent flames from spreading. Firefighters from four area departments fought the blaze.

A third home at 1160 W. Deschutes was damaged slightly.