Mike Dehaan returned to his destroyed neighborhood in Five Mile Prairie to find his home still standing alongside a note from Kootenai County firefighters apologizing for the damage they caused while saving it.
“Sorry for the damage, but we were able to save the house,” Dehaan said as he read from the note. “God bless Kootenai County firefighters.”
Dehaan said the note, which survived the fire and the elements, has provided him with a sense of hope as he begins the recovery process.
The Five Mile Prairie neighborhood suffered significant devastation during the fires in the Spokane area. The neighborhood is surrounded by all three major fires.
While Dehaan’s home survived, his family is currently displaced and staying with friends. The family lost their cat in the fire, but a neighbor managed to break into the home and rescue their dog before the flames reached the structure.
During the evacuation, a neighbor intervened to rescue the family pet as the fire approached the property. Dehaan said he received a call from the neighbor who said the flames were about to reach his house.
“He was able to break into our house and save our dog, which we’re incredibly grateful for,” Dehaan said.
The neighbor was unable to reach the family’s cat, which died in the fire. Dehaan also witnessed other citizens helping emergency responders during the chaotic evacuation.
He said he saw motorists blocking fire trucks as they tried to flee the area. “Just flying down the hill trying to get ahead of everybody and they’re blocking fire trucks coming up, and they’re almost getting into car accidents,” Dehaan said.
He said one unidentified driver eventually pulled into the lane to prevent others from obstructing the path for responding crews.
Dehaan said the crew had no reason to apologize and expressed deep gratitude for their work. While his family is currently staying with friends, Dehaan said everyone is healthy and safe.
He expressed a desire to thank the Kootenai County crew directly. “Yeah, I’d love to just let them know that, you know, our family, you know, still has at least a home structure that we’re going to be able to rebuild,” Dehaan said.
He said that small acts, such as the note and the driver clearing the road, demonstrate how people can help during major disasters. He hopes to meet with the firefighters who saved his house once they are less busy with active emergency responses.
He also said a lesson from the children’s television show ‘Mr Rogers’ applies. In the show, Fred Rogers tells people to look for the helpers in moments of crisis, and the adage was evident to Dehaan. “Yeah, I mean, like, just know that the helpers are out there, right?” Dehaan said.
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