Woman dies in Moscow fire

A Moscow woman died in a fire at this duplex Wednesday morning.

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Story Published: Jun 24, 2009 at 7:08 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jun 24, 2009 at 7:08 PM PDT

By Matt Loveless

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MOSCOW – A residential fire claimed the life of a Moscow woman Wednesday morning.

Fire Chief Ed Button said a couple was living in the bottom half of a two-story apartment in the at 904 Vandal Drive.

Moscow Division Chief Joe Williams spotted what was first reported as a tree fire to local dispatch. Firefighters showed up on scene just before 8:00 a.m. to find flames coming out of the building.

"The fire was blowing out the window on the northwest side," said Button. "The vinyl siding on the structure was a significant factor in the spread of this fire...went up the side of the building, broke through the second floor window, also into the attic and got into the roofline."

Firefighters put out the blaze in about an hour.

Authorities are not releasing names, but have confirmed a woman was killed in the fire. Button said, during the initial search, firefighters didn't find anyone inside.

"We commenced with our firefighting activities and then when we got enough resources on scene, we made a secondary search,” he said. “We had to force all the doors. All the doors were locked, and it was the secondary search the found a victim inside."

The Deputy State Fire Marshall out of Coeur D'Alene was in Moscow Wednesday investigating. Button said the building will have to be gutted.

The fire most likely started in a bedroom on the northwest corner of the building, which sustained the heaviest damage. A cause has not been determined. Thirty-two firefighters were on scene Wednesday morning.

Button said no one was living in the top half of the building.

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