Firefighters save Kootenai home

KOOTENAI — Functioning smoke alarms are being credited with averting tragedy in a house fire last weekend.

Northside Fire District firefighters were dispatched to a Main Street home early Sunday morning after fire broke out in a vacant upstairs bedroom. Firefighters arrived to find the family safely outside the home as heavy smoke gathered in the home’s upper level.

Equipped with breathing apparatuses, Capt. Dave Fox and Lt. Matt McArthur searched through the upstairs and discovered a burning mattress. The ventilated the smoke and extinguished the fire before it could cause damage to the home.

“This was great work on the part of all our firefighters,” said Northside Fire Chief Brad Mitton. “It’s also an important lesson about having working smoke alarms. The bedroom was unoccupied when the fire started and if the alarms hadn’t gone off, the family might not have known about the fire until it was too late.”

The fire’s cause appeared to be battery charging devices left unattended on a bed overnight. Mitton warns against leaving battery charging units unattended in areas where they could ignite nearby materials.

Joe Farago, a Northside spokesman, also recommends families practice Exit Drills In The Home. EDITH plans involve family members pre-planning escape routes and safe places to gather in the event of a fire to make sure nobody goes unaccounted for.

“That sure makes it a lot easier on us,” said Farago.