Fire leaves family homeless

Posted: Tuesday, Dec 18, 2007 - 09:45:57 pm PST
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By SEAN GARMIRE
Staff writer 

Officials believe blaze was started by malfunctioning freezer; no one was hurt

COEUR d'ALENE -- Still wearing their sleeping clothes, Bruce Ellin and his family sat in their van and watched their Harrison home crumple, engulfed in flames.

Ellin's shoeless feet were bleeding, cut by ice after an 8-foot drop from his bedroom window.

The smoke poured into the dark, early morning. A hope chest and clothes, the heirlooms and Christmas presents, all burned before their eyes.

Ellin recalled Tuesday morning in vivid detail. He awoke around 1 a.m. to the smell of smoke, and stepped out of bed to check on the wood stove. He opened the door and immediately noticed an orange glow. He looked to his left and saw it.

"The ceiling was engulfed in flames; it was just roaring," he said. "I shut the door and yelled to my wife 'the house is on fire, we got to get the kids and get out.'"

It was a mad rush to escape. There was only enough time to grab the four children and the pets, help them out through the bedroom window and jump out after them.

"It was so confusing, there was so much smoke, we just had to bail out of there," he said.

Ellin put his four children -- ages 2, 5, 10 and 12 -- into their van and backed out into the driveway.

"I'm alive, and my family is alive," he said Tuesday afternoon. "If for some reason I hadn't woke up it would have been disastrous."

Although Ellin's 2-year-old son is too young to understand what happened, his three young girls know their house is gone.

"It's hard for the kids to understand," he said. "At this moment (Christmas) is a pile of black ash.

"It's going to be bleak, but maybe it'll be fine because we'll read a Bible story and remember how thankful we should be just to have each other."

It was already a difficult season for Ellin. He took leave from his construction job after a work injury five months ago. Relying on the single paycheck provided by his wife, the family struggled to pay for food and rent, let alone buy Christmas presents.

"But now I don't know ... I don't know if we can pay what it takes to house six people," he said. "I don't have anything to fall back on ... nothing to get through the next day on."

The American Red Cross assisted the family after the fire by giving them clothes, shoes and enough money for a few nights in a hotel.

Regional Director Noel Abbott said it's a task the Red Cross undertakes with frequency this time each year. In little more than a week they have responded to four North Idaho fires -- one last Friday in Moyie Springs resulted in the death of a 15-year-old girl.

"This is the busiest time of the year for single family fires," Abbott said. "Most of it's due to heaters malfunctioning, shoved up against draperies ... or unattended candles."

The fire in Ellin's home was sparked by a malfunctioning freezer compressor, said St. Maries Fire Chief Larry Naccarato, which would have been a difficult problem to spot and prevent.

"They are so lucky," Naccarato said, "we could have had six fatalities, but with the grace of God it worked out."

Tuesday, after the fire, Ellin's family stayed with friends in Harrison who once lived on the same street, until their home too burned down two years ago.

Leanda Arlt, said the look on their faces dredged up familiar feelings.

"It's hard," she said. "It brings back memories."

Arlt said aid from the Red Cross, as well as strong support from the community, helped them get back on track after their home burned.

"We got a lot of help," she said. "The community made sure my kids had clothes to go to school the next day."

Naccarato said since nothing was salvaged from the home, Ellin's family could use donations. The family did not have renter's insurance.

"These people are in need of everything, and could use some help from the public," Naccarato said. "Whatever they came out of the house with is what they have."

To donate to Bruce Ellin:

(208) 689-9017

(208) 659-2667

To donate to the Red Cross:

(208) 640-0441