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.
