By CARA LORELLO
Staff Reporter
One Medical Lake family is without a home after a morning fire got out of control and took the strength of fire crews from several local agencies responding to get under control, but not before it destroyed their Minnie Street home on July 9.
The family of four, who asked their names be withheld, said they'd arranged for temporary lodging at Fairchild Air Force Base, and the mother and her two children who were home at the time managed to escape before it got out of control. According to the family and Medical Lake Fire Department's report, the fire started from a towel catching on a stove burner that had been left on. The mother said she'd gotten distracted and the three were outside at that moment on their trampoline. Her husband was at work that morning.
Fire stations got the call at 9:48 a.m., around the time Medical Lake's volunteer firefighters and a crew from Fire District 3 were en route to a motor vehicle accident that happened at Hallett and Ritchey Roads. Deputy Sheriff for District 3 Brian Anderson said District 3 trucks were diverted to Minnie Street first, arriving around 9:53 a.m. and Medical Lake arrived second.
MLFD was shorthanded that day, Anderson said, and the intensity of the fire by the time of arrival was so great, a second alarm call was made and pump engines from both Airway Heights and Cheney were sent in, and later, a District 10 pump engine.
“We were shorthanded, not enough to make an interior attack, not enough pumps or hoses [to put out the fire]. We weren't going in there,” Anderson said after the fire had been contained.
Two District 3 firefighters were inside about the time the living room area flashed over, ML firefighter Joe Kokinda said. Both managed to exit the house through a window when the fire blocked their way out.
It was 20 minutes of hosing before crews got back inside, and by that time, Anderson said not much was left from the combination of fire, smoke and water damage. The family's goldfish and a few other items, plus what things were already in the home's garage were spared.
Neighbor Joanna Williams, who lives on Howard Street one block up, said in an email statement a local daycare provider heard of the fire and took the children, ages 5 and 7, away “to lessen the trauma on them.”
“The parents are in shock right now,” Williams said. “They have homeowners insurance…however, from the looks of the house it is a total loss; gutted on the inside, severely scorched on the outside.”
The family was given a credit card to pay for immediate needs from the local American Red Cross, who's rep Joanne Cenis said last Thursday the agency had gotten six calls within the last 38 hours. The amount of money on the card, she added, “Provides for food and clothing, but it's not much anymore, with the cost of food prices like they are.”
When asked their opinion of fire crews' response to their call, the mother said the timing was excellent, though they weren't able to save much from the house.
“This is all we own,” she said, motioning to the garage, which sustained some smoke and fire damage. “None of it is salvageable though.”
All six responding Medical Lake firefighters were on call Wednesday morning, a time Kokinda said most of the department's volunteers are working day jobs. Fire Lt. Cory Stevens, who headed the response team, said this house was the first fire call the department's responded to this summer.
“Without you guys, it could have been a lot worse. Everybody did a great job here,” Stevens said in addressing all crews after the fire was contained.
Cara Lorello can be reached at [email protected]
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