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Fire destroys Post Falls home

| December 3, 2010 6:22 AM

 Early this morning, at approximately 12:50 a.m., Kootenai County Fire and Rescue responded to a house fire of a mobile home at 3605 Elk Drive, off of Corbin Rd in Post Falls, with smoke and flames, as reported by a neighbor.  As emergency crews were responding from KCFR, dispatch reports stated that all occupants had safely evacuated and that heavy fire and smoke were exiting the home and possibly threatening neighboring structures. 

At this time, a second alarm for mutual aid was requested and toned out.

Ann Davis, the owner of the home had been sleeping in a vehicle outside her home when a neighbor alerted her to smoke coming from the trailer where several pets (dogs) were inside.  Upon opening the door, the owner stated that the fire “flashed” inside and one of the two dogs in the main house exited the structure and two others were safely released from a back porch area.

No injuries were reported but the dog which did not exit was unaccounted for at the time of this release.  Crews did not enter the home after it was extinguished as failure and collapse of the ceiling and roof made it extremely unsafe to do so.  The interior was a total loss with walls on three sides also burnt through.

While en route to the fire, responders from Hauser Fire and Northern Lakes Fire were directed to Stations 2 and 3 to provide District coverage while KCFR personnel were on scene of the fire.  As KCFR crews became available, Hauser and Northern Lakes were released.  A total of 25 personnel responded to the fire.

Ms. Davis stated that she had just cancelled her home insurance this past year due to other expenses that took priority.  Although she mentioned that she should be ok, when asked, Ann said she would be open to being contacted if someone would like to help her out in some way.  Leave a message on her cell phone at (208) 625-0157.

The American Red Cross was contacted and responded shortly after being contacted and made arrangements for Ms. Davis to stay at a hotel through the weekend and provided emergency funds to purchase some immediate needs.

A neighbor of Ms. Davis provided shelter throughout the entire incident and allowed KCFR and Am. Red Cross personnel a place to speak with Ms. Davis.

Crews were released from the scene at approximately 4:30 a.m. and command terminated.  Responders will return to the scene throughout the day for investigation and insuring no rekindle of fire.