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Family rebuilding after fire |
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September 2, 2016 |
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By Mike Weland
A Bonners Ferry family was enjoying a dinner out
on the last day of August when a Moon Shadow
Road neighbor called to tell them that the
rented mobile home they lived in was on fire. On
the first day of September, while sifting
through the ashes of everything they owned, they
found a miracle.
North Bench Fire was dispatched to the blaze at
about 4:53 p.m. Wednesday, August 31, and
additional units from Paradise Valley and Hall
Mountain were called in before the blaze was put
out, as Mike and Crickett Schnittlinger and
their son, Brandon, watched as everything but
the clothes they were wearing burned to ash.
What brought Mike and Crickett the most anguish
was knowing that inside the inferno was the urn
that held the ashes of their daughter.
Everything else but that was replaceable.
On Thursday, they went to sift through the
ashes, and found the urn amid the ruins,
everything around it charred to cinder but the
urn amazingly unscathed.
In the moments after the fire was first noticed,
multiple neighbors ran over to check to see that
no one was inside, but it wasn't until later,
when the fire was well underway, that their dog,
trapped inside, was rescued. Brandon's cat has
yet to be found, and Crickett and her son are
going back to the rubble that was their home
today to search for it, or its remains.
"Please pray we don't break down in many tears,"
Crickett posted to Facebook this morning before
setting out.
Still, she is grateful.
"I Wanna Start Off Buy Saying Thank You To
Everyone Who Is & Has Helped Us in This Horrible
Tragic Thing That's Happened to Us, We Feel So
Blessed To Have Friends & Family Like All of
You," she wrote.
Since the fire, the family has been staying in a
local motel while they figure out how to put the
pieces of their lives back together. With no
rental insurance, replacing everything will not
be easy.
Brandon, who is starting his sophomore year at
Bonners Ferry High School, wears size 10 shoes,
extra large shirts and 38x30 pants. Crickett
wears size large shirts and leggings. Mike who
works at the mill in Moyie Springs, wears size
large shirts and 32x34 pants.
Clothes, toiletries and anything they can use
while they stay in the motel are most critical
now, but household items and furniture will be
needed soon.
Those who'd like to donate money can contribute
to a GoFundMe account established by a family
friend at
https://www.gofundme.com/2ms6dqz5 or you can
mail your donation to the family at P.O. Box
334, Bonners Ferry, ID 83805. They have family
willing to pick up donated items from anywhere
in the area, just call DeeAnna at (208)
610-7351. |
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