Call saves man from burning house

NEWPORT – Rick Ross was sleeping at his home at 310 N. Warren in Newport early Tuesday morning, Oct. 1, when he got a call from his wife, who was at work.

“My wife called and said the house was on fire,” Ross said. “I ran upstairs but it was too hot. So, I used a baseball bat to break the window.”

Pend Oreille County sheriff deputies helped him out of the window. As they were doing that a propane tank exploded.

Ross said he and his son, Zeke, escaped the burning house, along with their dog Minney.

“We lost four tortoises,” Ross said. “We had them since they were little.”

A smoke detector woke his son, Ross said. He said he thinks the fire started in an upstairs bedroom.

Ross and his son were the only people in the home when the fire broke out.

South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue responded, with the first crews able to contain the fire to the house. Crews from West Pend Oreille Fire, Pend Oreille County Fire Districts 2 and 4 and Spokane County Fire District 4 assisted, according to SPOFR.

There were no injuries, and the cause is under investigation.