Two people taken to hospital, three dogs die after fire in Salmon

SALMON — Two people went to the hospital suffering burns, and three dogs died after a fire in Salmon.

The incident happened Monday just after 10 a.m. According to Lemhi County Fire Protection District Chief Mike Warner, firefighters were called to an RV on fire at the Salmon Meadows RV Park off St. Charles Street.

Many pictures on social media showed a big plume of black smoke in the area.

“While we were en route, we were informed that a second RV was on fire. When the firemen got there, a third one was starting to smoke,” Warner said.

Firefighters were on the scene for two hours. He said two RV trailers were lost.

“The first one that caught on fire, everything that was in it, was ruined. The second, we were able to salvage some of her personal stuff, but the smoke and the water damage is probably going to ruin most of it,” Warner said.

He added the third trailer in the incident was damaged on the exterior, but the fire never got on the inside.

Warner told EastIdahoNews.com the first trailer that caught fire had a husband and wife inside.

“They received burns and went to the hospital,” he said.

They were checked, treated and released. He said the husband and wife had three dogs that died in the fire.

Warner said the second trailer had a lady in a wheelchair inside. Police were able to get her out. She was checked on the scene by EMTs and did not have any smoke inhalation or burns.

The third trailer did not have anyone inside.

Warner said these were permanent homes, and the Red Cross responded. They provided help through a local motel for those displaced.

The cause of the fire came from the first RV trailer, according to Warner.

“The state fire marshal came in yesterday (Monday) afternoon, and we did an investigation. It looks like the RV refrigerator had a cooling coil failure, which blew out and dropped all of the gas that’s in that coil out and then it lit off,” he said.

It’s unknown how much money the damage has cost with the contents inside the trailers, but he estimated the two lost trailers could be around $75,000 to $80,000.