Mitchell man's quick action saves two from fatal fire

Apr. 24--Steven Dirkes said he acted instinctively early Thursday morning when he ran into 515 N. Wisconsin St. and saved two small children from the burning house.

Dirkes, who noticed the fire around midnight from his home across the street, said the fire grew too quickly in the one to two minutes he was inside for him to get to a third child, a 6-year-old girl who was found deceased after the Mitchell Fire Division extinguished the blaze.

"The fire just went from little to giant, and I couldn't get up the stairs," Dirkes told The Daily Republic on Thursday afternoon. "I couldn't breathe. I couldn't make it to the other kid. I got a ladder and went to the back window to try to, but (there was) too much smoke."

Authorities announced Friday morning that the fire was caused by the children, who were left in the house alone for about an hour before the fire started, playing with a cigarette lighter. Dirkes and a friend found the two surviving children, ages 4 and 7, in the home's ground floor and on the stairs.

Mitchell Fire Marshall Shannon Sandoval along with investigators from the state fire marshall office and DCI investigate a fatal fire at 515 N. Wisconsin Street on Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

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Mitchell Fire Marshall Shannon Sandoval along with investigators from the state fire marshall office and DCI investigate a fatal fire at 515 N. Wisconsin Street on Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

Investigators from the state fire marshall office and DCI investigate a fatal fire at 515 N. Wisconsin Street on Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

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Investigators from the state fire marshall office and DCI investigate a fatal fire at 515 N. Wisconsin Street on Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

Investigators from the Mitchell Fire Department, state fire marshall office and DCI investigate a fatal fire at 515 N. Wisconsin Street on Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

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Investigators from the Mitchell Fire Department, state fire marshall office and DCI investigate a fatal fire at 515 N. Wisconsin Street on Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

Investigators from the Mitchell Fire Department, state fire marshall office and DCI investigate a fatal fire at 515 N. Wisconsin Street on Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

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Investigators from the Mitchell Fire Department, state fire marshall office and DCI investigate a fatal fire at 515 N. Wisconsin Street on Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

Investigators from the Mitchell Fire Department, state fire marshall office and DCI investigate a fatal fire at 515 N. Wisconsin Street on Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

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Investigators from the Mitchell Fire Department, state fire marshall office and DCI investigate a fatal fire at 515 N. Wisconsin Street on Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

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First responders reportedly attempted to save the life of the 6-year-old, whose name has not been released, but they were unable to do so.

Criminal charges related to the children being left unattended may be filed, police announced Friday, but no arrests had been made as of Friday morning. The two surviving children were placed in protective custody following the fire.

Mitchell's police and fire divisions were assisted with an investigation Thursday by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the state fire marshal's office and a K-9 unit. Mitchell Fire Marshal Shannon Sandoval said Thursday it's typical for a number of investigative agencies to be called in for a fatal fire.

Late Thursday morning, law enforcement released the house back to Mid-Dakota Properties, the company which owns the property and was renting it to a woman and her three children since September. Owner Boyd Reimnitz said having the house turned back over indicates the fire wasn't caused by anything for which Mid-Dakota Properties would be liable, such as wiring or appliances.

Boyd and Destiny Reimnitz said they heard smoke detectors going off in the house when they arrived at the scene shortly after midnight. Boyd Reimnitz said he was asked to provide information on work that had been done on the property within the past two years.

"Everything we touched in the building, they looked at," he said.

Reimnitz said the house, which was boarded up Thursday, will be torn down when permitted by the city. He's now awaiting a separate investigation to be completed by an insurance investigator.

Balloons and flowers were tied on the fence around the house at 515 N. Wisconsin Street where a 6-year-old child died in a fire early Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

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Balloons and flowers were tied on the fence around the house at 515 N. Wisconsin Street where a 6-year-old child died in a fire early Thursday morning in Mitchell. (Matt Gade / Republic)

Boyd and Destiny Reimnitz stand in what was the living room of their rental home that caught fire early Thursday morning where a six-year-old girl died. The house was turned back over to Reimnitz around 11 a.m. on Thursday following the fire investigation. (Matt Gade / Republic)

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Boyd and Destiny Reimnitz stand in what was the living room of their rental home that caught fire early Thursday morning where a six-year-old girl died. The house was turned back over to Reimnitz around 11 a.m. on Thursday following the fire investigation. (Matt Gade / Republic)

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