Family escapes structure fire

SAMUELS — A woman and her six children escaped a structure fire before it consumed their home on Wednesday, Bonner County Sheriff's officials said.

Fire in the mobile home broke out after gasoline was used to start a fire in a wood stove and some of the fuel might have spilled onto the carpet before the fire started, Undersheriff Charlie Dennis said in a new released issued on Thursday. Brandi Chapman told investigators one of her sons removed a plate from the stovetop, which appears to have allowed an ember to escape and land on the carpet.

Flames quickly spread to the walls, cabinets and eventually to propane bottles, which exploded and added to the conflagration, Dennis said. The home was fully engulfed upon the arrival of deputies and firefighters from the Northside Fire District.

The fire started shortly before 6 p.m. on Highland Road.

Temporary housing arrangements for Chapman and her children is being arranged through the American Red Cross, which is putting the family up in Sandpoint for the next few days and is assisting members with clothes and groceries, said Delores Gardner, a Red Cross of Greater Idaho disaster volunteer based in Bonners Ferry.