Fire crews extinguish Big Creek home fire
Smoke pours out of the burning structure in Big Creek Saturday afternoon.
Keri Alexander
BIG CREEK — Damage was limited to a few select areas of a Big Creek residence Saturday after fire crews knocked down a blaze that had worked its way into the structure’s attic.
Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 Chief Mark Aamodt tells the News-Press the blaze was reported at 3:50 p.m. at a residence at 31 Circle Drive.
Upon arrival at the scene, firefighters discovered flames had worked their way up from a flower pot on the back patio to the building’s second-story attic.
SCFD No. 2 sent two fire engines of its own, but quickly requested mutual aid from SCFD No. 1, the Mullan Volunteer Fire Department, and the Idaho Department of Lands due primarily to the extreme heat of the day. With more units on scene, firefighters were able to fight fatigue more efficiently and cool off.
When it came to fighting the actual fire, crews spent several hours in the attic that had two roof spaces.
"We had to open up that whole ceiling area so we could get into where the fire was,” Aamodt explained. “We had to make sure that there was nothing holding over that would light up later on.”
While there was some damage to personal belongings inside a bedroom on the west side, much of the fire damage was relegated to the attic area.
It is believed the fire began in a flower pot with a dead and dried plant.
"The possibilities there are either spontaneous combustion of the potting soil/material that were in there or possibly cigarettes in the planter,” Aamodt said.
The fire then spread from the planter to a nearby garbage bag full of stuffed animals for a dog, then onward up the structure's exterior wall.
Fire crews remained on scene until approximately 8:45 p.m. that night to ensure that everything had been knocked down.
“It was a stubborn son of a gun, but we wrapped it up,” Aamodt said.
No injuries were reported and the fire was contained to the originally affected structure.
Following the incident, Aamodt wants to make residents aware that when fire trucks are blocking roads, it is done to keep vehicles from driving over fire hoses.
“Whether a firehose is charged and full of water or whether it's empty, they shouldn’t be driven over.”
While fighting this fire, fire crews dealt with several motorists who drove around emergency vehicles and one even ran over a charged hose. This can not only damage the hose, but also the vehicles that run them over.