Five killed in Orofino fire

The charred remains of a house on Cedar Avenue in Orofino, Idaho, is shown. Five people were killed in the fire Saturday morning.

BOISE – An extension cord hooked to an electric grill on a porch shorted out and started a house fire that killed five people Saturday morning, a North Idaho fire official said.

Orofino Fire Chief Mike Lee said the house was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived after a neighbor reported the fire at 1:38 a.m.

He said smoke inhalation likely killed the two adults and three teens whose bodies were also badly burned in the blaze. He said the dead were a family of four plus a teenage friend who was sleeping over to help celebrate a birthday. He said he didn’t know the genders of the teens who died.

No smoke alarms in the home. How often do you check/change the batteries in your home smoke alarms?