Spokane woman, 89, displaced by Christmas Eve house fire

Dec. 24--Sophie Morehouse had just plugged in her Christmas tree when a fire started in her living room.

The Thursday morning fire displaced Morehouse, 89, from her home at 904 W. Jackson St. in Spokane, where she's lived since 1955. Flames started on the ground floor, destroying most of her Christmas presents, before moving to the second floor and the attic.

"There's a couple of presents that made it," said her son, Terry Morehouse.

Spokane firefighters responded to the home around 8 a.m. Thursday and had the fire under control in about 40 minutes, Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said. Morehouse was uninjured, and no one else was in the house.

Terry Morehouse lives just a few blocks away and said the whole family will be coming over to his house for Christmas. He grew up in the home and said the family is still in shock over the lost family photos and other memories.

"It's up in the air. It's going to take a while to soak in -- your whole childhood is there," he said. "Within the next week we should be OK."

The house was built in 1903. Schaeffer said parts of it are still intact, and older houses often have studier builds that make rebuilding easier.

"You just really really hate to see anybody go through it," he said. The Red Cross will be assisting Morehouse.

"We'll be working with her throughout the day. Obviously, it was really traumatic for her," Schaeffer said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, though Schaeffer said it was likely started by the artificial tree Morehouse plugged in.

Terry Morehouse said insurance should cover the cost of rebuilding the home, and his mother will be able to stay with family until that happens. He asked that anyone thinking of making a donation should give to the Vanessa Behan crisis nursery in his mother's name.

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