Idaho Falls condo fire keeps flaring up

People in Idaho Falls who were displaced from their homes Tuesday night when a fire damaged their condominiums were also evacuated Wednesday morning.

Three fire engines and two ambulances were at the Westwood Park Village Condominiums on Vega Circle as of noon. The road was blocked off.

A condominium building caught on fire around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning around 6:30, fire crews were called back to the complex after reports of smoke coming from the building.And at 11:15 a.m., smoke was coming from the building again, and residents had to leave.

Firefighters said Wednesday that the fire was flaring up repeatedly because the building is made almost entirely out of wood.

There isn’t a specified time for residents to re-enter their homes.

Fire investigators said two units were badly damaged in Tuesday’s fire.

Idaho Falls Fire Division Chief Dorin Howard said all residents in the building’s eight units made it out safely through a self-evacuation on Tuesday.

Howard said the cause is under investigation, but that it was a large fire made worse by a propane tank attached to a grill.

The Idaho Falls Fire Department battled flames in the two story building. Howard said fire broke out on the patio of the lower, right side unit and then spread up and across the attic space Tuesday.

“The flames were really roaring off the back of that apartment,” said Steve Bale, who pulled off of the road to watch.

Rachel Hopsum has lived in the building almost two years. She said she was chatting with friends on Facebook when someone came banging on her door telling her to get out. She said she had to be helped down the steps because the smoke was so black she couldn’t see or breathe.

“It was like inhaling 10,000 cigarettes,” said Hopsum. “And I’m not a smoker at all.”

Hopsum said while items like her cell phone and favorite first-edition books were left behind, she was most relieved her son wasn’t there when it happened.

“I’m glad he wasn’t home, stressed because my medication for my transplant is in there,” said Hopsum. “Just life … my life is in there.”

Hopsum said her cat jumped out of her arms and ran back inside as she was evacuating, but firefighters were able to get it out safely after the flames were knocked down.

Howard and Fire Marshal Ken Anderson both said residential sprinklers inside the apartments would have made a huge difference.

The Red Cross mobilized a local team to help those who were displaced find somewhere to stay and get some clothes for the next few days.

The damage is estimated at $250,000.