Crews called back to Rigby home deemed complete loss

RIGBY, Idaho (KIFI) - UPDATE 3:15 p.m. Crews were called back out to 452N 3950E for a house fire that had rekindled Friday morning around 5:00 a.m.

Firefighters found heavy fire in the attic and on the main floor, and the fire had burned hot enough to blow out a big picture window which feed more air/oxygen to the fire.

Fire crews had to work through heavy lath and plaster walls. There were several inches of blown-in insulation in the ceiling that hampered efforts of getting through to the seat of the fire.

The original structure of this house was built around 1914, and the main structure of the house was heavy square timbers with plaster chinking.The next layer was thin wooden shakes covered with tar paper and then at least ½ inch of cement/plaster. This makes it extremely difficult when fire gets between those layers and burns from the inside out.

Crews worked for several hours to extinguish this fire.

Central Fire District said firefighters never like to be called out to a rekindle; however, when there's an old well-built house with this type of structure and with periodic remodeling it does unfortunately happen.

The fire damage was considered a complete loss. Damage estimate with contents is $175,000 to $225,000.    

ORIGINAL: A home in Rigby is damaged after catching on fire just after midnight.

Law enforcement says the homeowner at 452 N 3950 E had attempted to find and extinguish the fire themselves.

They experienced some breathing problems due to the smoke but were treated on-scene.

The fire started in the basement of the home and damaged some parts of the floors and floor joists.

The fire was extinguished, and fire personnel worked to clear smoke from the house. There was minimal property damage to the home contents.

The cause of the fire is determined to be electrical issues.

Estimated damage is approximately $60,000.