House fire is latest in a trend

GRANGEVILLE — The deputy Idaho state fire marshal said the house fire here that claimed the lives of a mother and son March 2 had likely been burning for about an hour before it was discovered by a passerby.

And the Grangeville fire chief said his department has responded to five structure fires already this year — mostly caused by people living in substandard housing conditions and heating their living spaces with electric space heaters attached to extension cords.

Brett Lyons, 63, and Mary Lyons, 88, were found deceased at their home on South Meadow Street in Grangeville shortly after 10 p.m. March 2. Brett Lyons’ body was found about 15 feet from the front door; Mary Lyons was found in her bed.

Grangeville Fire Chief Brian Perry said Brett Lyons was either trying to escape the house or get to his mother. Both died of smoke inhalation.

Jason Blubaum, deputy state fire marshal at Coeur d’Alene, said Monday the fatal fire was caused by a deteriorating wood stove that allowed gas and flames to get into the void places behind the wall.

“It burned in the wall probably an hour before it came out into the house,” Blubaum said. “It was a slow, smoldering fire that leaves a lot of smoke. It wasn’t a big fire but a really smoky fire.”

Officials were alerted at 10:10 p.m. by a passerby who saw flames through the house front windows, Blubaum said. Grangeville firefighters were on the scene within minutes but the Lyonses had already died.

Perry said until recently the Lyonses’ house had been heated with oil.

“They had an oil furnace but they were running wood, which they hadn’t run for a long time,” Perry said. “The chimney was no good.”

Perry, who has been in the volunteer fire department for 22 years, said there has been a rash of structure fires in the area lately.

“I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the structure fires are coming from the lack of housing,” Perry said.

“We’ve got people that are unable to rent or their rentals have been sold and now we’re seeing people forced into less desirable living conditions.

“I see a lot of electrical fires — people trying to heat with space heaters or living in RVs and running too-long extension cords. The housing that is left is not very good housing; not modern housing.”

The real estate market in Idaho County is on a roll and Perry said most of the contractors are tied up with expensive projects.

“Blue collar people just making it get kicked to the side,” Perry said. “The housing they can afford is not always up to par; from insulation, good windows, good wiring. I think that’s why we’re seeing more fires here. You have two choices: Be homeless or be grateful for what you’ve got.”

Perry said house fires aren’t always restricted to older structures “but some of this stuff has been (because of) running electric heaters and overloading circuiting, regardless of how new the house is.”

“If I had one message for the public: Electric heaters on extension cords are a bad idea.”

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.