Firefighters pulled an elderly couple to safety as they attempted to use a garden hose to douse a fire in their house north of Ridgefield on Wednesday afternoon.
Firefighters were called to the 29900 block of Northwest 71st Avenue around 1:30 p.m. Clark County Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Dawdy said one 911 call indicated firefighters were heading to a barn fire, but it turned out to be in an old home.
The occupants, an older couple, were inside, Dawdy said.
“They were in their house, they heard some noise upstairs, and the fire and flame started creeping into the main floor,” he said. “They called 911 and actually started trying to fight the fire, which is something we don’t encourage people to do.”
Division Chief Dan Yager was among the first firefighters to arrive, then ran inside to bring the two outside. Afterward, the man from the house went back in.
“Again, something we discourage people from doing,” Dawdy said.
Yager went back inside, again, and brought the man to safety.
More firefighters arrived, and found the upper floor of the home completely on fire, Dawdy said.
Complicating firefighters’ efforts was the old age of the house and the lack of nearby hydrants. Dawdy said the house is at the end of a dirt driveway off a gravel road, and firefighters had to roll in water tenders to supply water.
Dawdy said the house, according to the man who lives there, was once an old general store that sat at the Pekin Ferry site on the Lewis River. At some point, it was put on log skids and rolled to where it stands now, to use as a home.
It took about 40 minutes to stop the fire, which remained mostly confined to the home’s upper floor, Dawdy said.
The couple both received minor injuries, he said, but they declined treatment. The Red Cross responded to help with any post-fire needs, and the Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating.
Three adults were affected, according to the Red Cross.
Dawdy said the fire district discourages people from re-entering a burning home, or staying inside to fight the fire.
“The main thing we want to get across to people is, call 911, get out of the house and don’t re-enter,” he said. “Make sure that you stay outside.”
No property is worth risking running inside a burning home for, he said, and firefighters are better trained and equipped to safely and successfully rescue anyone who might be trapped inside.
