Pocatello woman in need of new home after fire

Linda Rothman and her landlords sifted through the remains of what used to be her home, looking for anything that might have been spared by the flames.

“Everybody who came over to visit called my house ‘Linda’s Home,'” Rothman said. “I had decorated it to where I had it made just for me.”

Fire crews were called to Rothman’s home Saturday around 9 p.m. and found her home engulfed in flames. Rothman wasn’t home at the time. The Pocatello Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire, but Rothman suspects it was electrical.

The house is a total loss.

“Everything (in that house) belonged to me,” Rothman said. “It’s everything that I had worked for. I just got to start over and try to find a place to live.”

Once Betty Kutch learned of her friend’s devastation, she immediately thought of ways to help. She found some things around her house and her mom’s place to sell and started a benefit account for Rothman at Westmark Credit Union.

“Nice people are hard to come by,” Kutch said. “I just want to help her out because she really needs it right now. She needs our prayers as well. She’s really struggling.”

While Rothman will have to replace almost everything, she’s happy she’ll have no trouble replacing her grandma’s handmade cookbooks.

“It’s pretty wrecked, but I can still get some of the recipes out of it,” she said while flipping through the pages of one of them. “I’ll save anything I can from my grandma.”

Rothman is in need of clothing, furniture, toiletries and even recommendations for cheap houses or apartments to rent. You can contact her at 208-220-0153.

To donate to the benefit fund, you can visit a Westmark Credit Union location and ask to donate to an account under Kutch’s name. You can also contact Kutch directly at 208-681-1081 to donate money or any other items.