Osburn resident perishes in Thursday fire

OSBURN — A house fire in the Leisure Acres area of west Osburn on Thursday evening tragically resulted in the death of the home’s 74-year-old occupant.

It was just after 5 p.m. when emergency crews responded to a call about a single-house fire at 1600 Yellowstone Ave. in the trailer park/modular home area near Gene Day Park.

According to a release from the Osburn Police Department, upon arrival, Lt. Jason Woody found a resident attempting to gain entry to the home and attempted to assist, but due to the intensity of the fire inside the residence, they were unsuccessful.

Once emergency crews arrived on scene, they were able to gain entry to the home where they tragically discovered the occupant blocking the entrance to the residence — the occupant was quickly extracted and life-saving measures were performed by the EMS crews.

Unfortunately, those measures were unsuccessful and the occupant succumbed to his injuries.

Shoshone County Fire District No. 1 (SCFD1) Chief John Miller remarked that it didn’t take long for the crews to get the fire out, thanks largely in part to the combined efforts of Fire Districts No. 1 and No. 2. — he also said that the outside of the building looked to be in a condition where you might not even know a fire had occurred at the residence — but the inside of the residence was a different story.

Following the fire being extinguished, both OPD and the Idaho State Fire Marshall’s Office with the assistance of SCFD1 began investigating the cause of the fire.

According to the press release from OPD Chief Darrell Braaten, over the course of their investigation, it became clear that the cause of the fire was due to ignited material being placed inside a plastic bag near a couch in the living area of the residence. The couch then ignited and the blaze spread from there.

Chief Braaten would like to thank both Fire District No. 1 and No. 2, Shoshone County EMS, the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office and the Idaho State Fire Marshall's Office for their assistance.

Chief Miller would like to remind people to make sure that their smoke and CO2 detectors are working properly.

At this time, the name of the victim is not being released out of privacy.