Investigators say an electrical fault in a light fixture caused last week’s deadly house fire in Weippe. The determination was made by the Idaho State Fire Marshall after the fire early Friday morning that took the lives of 3-year-old twin boys. Authorities were called to the scene just after 2 AM Friday, with the first priority of locating the young boys last seen sleeping in the living room. The search was hindered by the collapsed roof and weakened floors due to the damage from the fire. After about 5 hours of searching the twins were found in the kitchen area. The boys’ mother told investigators that her sons were sleeping in the living room when she went to bed around midnight. The woman woke up to smoke and alerted the father, who immediately attempted to rescue the boys only to be driven back by heavy smoke and heat. More attempts were made, but neither parent was able to reach the boys. The mother stopped a passing motorist to call 911, and firefighters from Weippe Fire Department arrived a short time later as well as Pierce and Orofino Fire Departments. Although smoke alarms were said to have been inside the home, no alarms were reported to have been heard or located during the investigation. (Idaho Department of Insurance)
