Fire officials investigate cause of house fire in Lewiston Orchards
LEWISTON, ID — Right now fire officials are working to find out what sparked a fire that destroyed a home. It happened early Wednesday morning around 5:30 in the area of Barr Road and Allmon Drive in the Lewiston Orchards.
Chief Travis Myklebust says the home did not have working smoke detectors.
More than six hours after the first Lewiston fire crews arrived, fire still burned around what was left of the home in the 3800 block of Barr Road. The home is a total loss. Officials say the owner wasn’t home because he was having a medical emergency, and was trying to drive himself to the hospital.
Crews were called the property at 5:30 Wednesday morning only to find fire coming out through the roof, and flames shooting out of almost every window. A live powerline on the ground limited their access to one side of the house.
Firefighters from all three Lewiston stations responded, deploying multiple fire hoses to begin knocking down the fire. And once on-scene they requested more resources to help. But due to the potential of collapse, crews had no choice but to attack the fire from outside of the home. No one was allowed in.
Chief Travis Myklebust says while firefighters worked to save the home, a chief officer, on his way there, stopped to help the homeowner. Lewiston Police found him in a parking lot at Grelle and Thain. The battalion chief rendered aid until an ambulance arrived. At last word, the homeowner is in the hospital.
