Police kick in door, carry woman from burning unit

COEUR d’ALENE — Coeur d’Alene Police officers are being credited with rescuing a woman after her apartment caught fire.

Capt. Dave Hagar said the officers responded to the blaze at the Cherry Ridge Apartments on Emma Avenue about 1:30 a.m. Saturday and were among the first to arrive.

“We happened to be closer,” Hagar said Wednesday.

He said the officers quickly assessed the situation and determined there was a person inside a burning apartment unit.

A witness said an officer kicked in the door, and two of them found the woman lying on her floor. They picked her up and carried down two flights of stairs to safety.

Hagar said the officers didn’t know what they might face when they entered the unit, but did what they could to help someone whose life was likely in danger.

“They pulled her out,” Hagar said

The woman, reportedly in her 60s, suffered second- and third-degree burns and was initially transported to Kootenai Health, and then to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Her condition was unavailable Wednesday.

The fire initially displaced occupants in 18 residential units. Avista was able to return power to 12 units that did not sustain significant damage, according to a press release, and residents were able to return to their homes.

Residents in six units were displaced due to fire or water damage and were being assisted by Red Cross.

Craig Etherton, deputy fire marshal with the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department, said Wednesday the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it appears to be accidental.

One apartment resident, who declined to give his name, said that about 1 a.m. Saturday he went to open a window and check the weather.

“It’s a good thing I did,” he said.

The man smelled smoke and then saw black smoke pouring from a building vent. He called 911.

He said he went outside to the ground level, and then returned to the second-floor unit where the fire seemed to have started, as he was sure the resident was still inside.

He said he knocked and beat on the door, and called to the woman, but there was no answer. That’s when police arrived.

“He mule-kicked it three times and finally, it flew open,” the man said.

The man said he and others spent about six hours standing in the cold as firefighters knocked down the blaze and then cleaned up.

He said he was not hurt and hopes to remain in his unit that sustained minor damage. He received some rental assistance from Red Cross.

The siding of the apartment units in the back was burned, windows were boarded up and debris was in the yard. 

The apartment where the fire apparently started was gutted and a third-floor unit above it suffered serious damage. Boxes were stacked near the front door and on the back deck.

“The best thing that could happen is everybody got out alive,” the man said. “This other stuff, it just doesn’t make any difference. It’s stuff.”

Steve Widmyer, one of the owners of Cherry Ridge Apartments, said they have offered to let those whose units were damaged move into vacancies either at Cherry Ridge or other properties they own.

On Wednesday, a few of the displaced residents were doing just that and carried boxes to vehicles and their new accommodations.

“We’re trying to accommodate them,” Widmyer said.

He said if they moved into a larger unit, rent would not increase.

“We're trying to help them out,” Widmyer said. “We’re doing our best to get the people housed.”

    A sign posted by the city of Coeur d'Alene warns people to stay out of units damaged in a Saturday morning fire at Cherry Ridge Apartments.