North Crow house fire a 'total loss'
Daniel Martynowicz
Flames shoot from a window of Robert and Nancy Rider's North Crow home Monday. The house was destroyed in a blaze that took firefighters nearly six hours to extinguish.
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RONAN — The Ronan, Polson and Finley Point fire departments, along with several Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies and a Ronan Ambulance crew, responded to a house fire on North Crow Road Jan. 14.
The column of smoke ascending from the structure could be seen for several miles in all directions. The fire was reported via a 911 call around 11:30 a.m. by a neighbor half a mile from the fire. Lake County Undersheriff Dan Yonkin and Ronan Fire Chief Mark Clary said the structure was a total loss. There were no serious injuries.
Fire and law enforcement officials have not released information regarding the cause of the fire, as the investigation is ongoing.
“I don’t have any indications at this point that there was anything suspicious about the fire,” Yonkin said. “It was certainly taking hold in a few of the rooms.”
The home, belonging to Robert and Nancy Rider, was around 100 years old with several “voids” running down the length of the building. Clary said the fire entered these voids, making it difficult for firemen to extinguish the blaze. Firefighters eventually had to peel back the roof with fireman Rick Jennison’s bucket truck to expose the fire.
Emergency personnel cleared the scene a full six hours after the blaze began.
“I believe (the fire) started in the kitchen area of the house,” Clary said. “They were able to salvage some items out of it, but it was a total loss. I do not suspect foul play at this time.”
An account has been established at Ronan’s Community Bank to benefit the Rider family. Anyone wishing to donate can deposit money into the Rider benefit account at any Community Bank location.
