Firefighters work to contain a structure fire at the Idaho Youth Ranch warehouse along West Irving Street in Boise on Monday, July 19.
Firefighters work to contain a structure fire at the Idaho Youth Ranch warehouse along West Irving Street in Boise on Monday, July 19.
The smoke is often visible from miles away. The effects are devastating. Structure fires leave behind more than just rubble and embers after they are put out, they can leave behind heartbreak and life-disrupting decisions.
“You can see the emotion on their face,” Boise Fire Department Fire Marshal Mike Bisagno said. “We try everything we can to stop the fire, to first and foremost save lives. And then also trying to save property.”
Fire departments in the Treasure Valley have responded to multiple structure fires in recent weeks. The Boise Fire Department alone has had three large fires: the Idaho Youth Ranch warehouse on July 18, a double house fire on July 21 and a two-story house fire on July 23 .
But according to data provided by the Boise and Meridian fire departments, this year’s structure fire numbers seem to be tracking with previous years. In Boise, there have been seven structure fires in July as of July 23. In previous years, Boise had 10 structure fires in July 2021, five in July 2020, 10 in July 2019 and eight in July of 2018.
In Meridian, the numbers appear to go up a little with each year. In the months of June and July of this year, Meridian has had nine structure fires. This is up from six in 2021, five in 2020 and two in 2019.
“Although Meridian is largely new construction, that doesn’t always mean safer,” Meridian Fire Chief Kris Blume said in an email. “Modern lightweight construction, which is most of what Meridian is seeing, actually burns hotter, faster and is much more dangerous for residents and firefighters than what is considered legacy construction.”
The effects of structure fires can be devastating. On July 27, there was a structure fire in Meridian that displaced five individuals, according to a press release from the Meridian Fire Department.
But there are some preventative measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of structure fires.
According to Bisagno, most of the recent fires’ causes are still under investigation and the department ruled the cause of the Idaho Youth Ranch fire as "undetermined" on Thursday. But there have been several fires this year that have occurred from people trying to put out their cigarettes in the potting soil of planter boxes.
“Potting soil is almost all combustible. You think it's dirt, but it's not. It's a lot of wood product in it and there's Styrofoam,” Bisango said. “So a lot of people don't know what they're doing. It'll combust and next thing you know, oftentimes you know our flower beds are right next to the house. Crawls right up the house and next thing you know you have a structure fire.”
Bisagno instead recommends using a noncombustible container with sand in it or an ashtray to put out the cigarettes. Smokers should also keep an eye on their cigarette to make sure it’s out and “out safely.”
Similar principles apply for disposal of smoking materials like coals. A noncombustible container, specifically used for coals, should be used. It should also be kept away from the side of the house. Bisango said coals should still be monitored when dumping the container. Blume recommended wetting the items down before disposing of them.
Another thing to pay attention to in order to prevent home and structure fires is items that can spontaneously combust, like rechargeable batteries and oil-soaked rags.
“I make sure to use the manufacturer's chargers and then I also remove the batteries from the chargers and place them in a place where if they were to ignite they're not going to catch anything else on fire,” Bisagno said.
He also said people should take care not to overload power strips and extension cords. Oftentimes, overloading a power strip is not determined by whether there are still open outlets on the strip. It all has to do with how many amps the power strip can take.
“The safest way to (prevent overload) is plug equipment directly into the wall,” Bisagno said. “Your breakers are there to protect you and not all of these power strips and extension cords have that capability.”
In terms of oil-soaked rags, Bisagno said, if someone is going to use rags to stain wood, they need to lay the rags out flat to dry outside away from anything that could catch on fire. Rags should never be crumpled up into a ball.
Finally, basic house upkeep and repair will help homeowners prevent house fires. This upkeep can even temper the severity of the fire, according to Bisagno.
“Honestly, again, that depends on how you treat your house. You know, sometimes it's just bad luck,” Bisagno said. “But as far as the severity of it, it honestly depends on the way the building was at the time that the fire began ... If you practice good housekeeping and keep everything in repair, the chances of these accidents happening diminish greatly.”
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