Fire rips through iconic Cataldo home

CATALDO – Fire crews with Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 responded to their fourth major fire in roughly a month on Saturday when they were dispatched to a report of a chimney fire in Cataldo.

SCFD No. 2 Chief Mark Aamodt reports that the initial call for service came in at 5:12 p.m. as the Kellogg units of the District were participating in the city’s Lighting Festival parade.

Units from the Pinehurst firehouse were the first to arrive to the affected structure, located at the end of a private driveway just off Cataldo Gulch Road, and were reinforced not long after by the Kellogg units.

As they first got on scene, a look at the exterior of the structure only showed flames and smoke coming from the second story of the home. As a result, crews initially tried to enter that area from the inside, but were forced out due to extreme heat.

The limited amount of visible fire from the outside led crews to believe that the damage could have been contained to parts of the home. Once the flames that had spread to the inside of the walls and ceiling showed themselves though, tactics shifted to keeping the inferno confined to the original structure.

In addition to the initial covert nature of the flames, firefighters had a few other unique factors working against them.

With the closest fire hydrant being located a mile away near the Cataldo Post Office, Chief Aamodt explained that crews had to implement a shuttle relay system, which involved setting up a 2,500 gallon water tank (known also a bird bath) on scene.

Water tenders from SCFD No. 2 and the Mullan Volunteer Fire Department would secure water from the hydrant in Cataldo, then dump the water into the tank to be used by units on scene.

“Once we got that cycle going, we didn’t have a problem,” he said.

Another factor that added a layer of difficulty to fighting the blaze was the low temperatures.

Falling to a low of 13 degrees at one point, any water that accidentally splashed out of the bird bath or dribbled out of a hose quickly froze. This created ice rink-like conditions in high-foot traffic areas.

To combat the slick conditions, Aamodt requested aid from both the Kootenai and Shoshone County road districts.

“Both road districts sent somebody out to talk with us and Shoshone County ended up laying some sand down there to make it less dangerous.”

After roughly 6 hours of combating the fire, SCFD No. 2 personnel successfully suppressed the blaze and kept the damage relegated to the originally affected structure. In addition to a perimeter of trees, there was also a work shed and a large fuel tank that were threatened.

No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.

After an initial investigation, Aamodt is confident that the fire was caused by the use of the fireplace and chimney. Based on burn patterns observed during and after the incident, it appears that the fire began inside of the wall built around/next to the fireplace/chimney. What is unknown is the method in which the fire got inside the wall. There is insufficient evidence at this time to know whether the fire started inside the chimney and worked its way out, or if the wall material surrounding the chimney was not meant to be subjected to high heat and burst into flames.

While the original parts of the home were over 100 years old, the affected fireplace/chimney was a later add on.

With the cause mostly determined, Aamodt once again wants to stress the importance of home fire safety, especially during these winter months.

“I can’t preach it enough– make sure your smoke detectors work and maintain your chimneys!” he said. “There were people at home on the main floor when the fire started, but they were unaware that there was a fire burning. The father of the female who lives there saw the smoke from his house not far away and was the one who called them and warned them.”