Idaho House Fire Kills Five

By Dawn Cranfield

Idaho House Fire Kills Five

Tragedy struck a small Idaho town early Saturday morning around 1:38 a.m. as flames overwhelmed a family home and killed the five occupants.  A family of four and a visiting guest were all killed by the smoke.

“It is the worst tragedy we’ve ever had in Orofino, fire-wise,” said Orofino Fire Chief Mike Lee.  According to Lee, the home has fully engulfed by the time firefighters arrived after a neighbor reported the blaze at 1:38 a.m.

The names of the victims, a family of four (parents and their two teenaged children) and a teenaged houseguest who was visiting overnight to celebrate a birthday, have not been released.

Foul play has been ruled out as a cause of the fire; an electrical short caused by an overloaded extension cord on the front porch has been determined to be the cause.  Adding to the tragedy was the fact that the home was not equipped with smoke alarms on the ground floor of the two-story home.

Lee states the family was likely asleep when the blaze broke out.

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