Woman injured, family displaced after two fires in Stevens County on Saturday

Fire crews in Stevens County extinguished two house fires Saturday that displaced a family of five and left one woman with burns, according to Stevens County Fire District No. 1.

Fire crews from districts 1 and 4 responded to the first fire on Saturday at about 9:20 a.m. at a residence west of Springdale after a chimney fire spread to the attic and roof of a home occupied by a family of five.

District 1 Chief Mike Bucy said that the family’s home was a total loss. The Red Cross helped the family to relocate. Fire crews successfully rescued the family’s four cats from the fire.

The fire district said it has had a higher-than-normal number of chimney fires in 2023, in part due to the long winter.

Fire crews extinguished the second fire at about 10:15 p.m., just north of Suncrest after a woman’s mobile camper she was living in caught fire, the district said.

The woman suffered critical burns and was transported by Life Flight to Sacred Heart, the fire district said. Bucy said her burns were considered life-threatening.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, the district said.