Firefighters save home while fighting woodshed blaze at Superior ranch

SUPERIOR - At around 11:00 pm Sunday Francis Parker, who lives at the Warnken Ranch on Southside Rd, heard a loud boom coming from outside of the house. 

When she looked outside, an empty woodshed next to the house was engulfed in flames.

“There’s nothing in there,” Parker said. “We used to heat the house from the shed but it has been empty for years, it just doesn’t make any sense.” 

Several motorists on Interstate 90 saw the flames and pulled over. After calling 911 the motorists rushed over the fence separating the highway from Southside Rd. and began to help keep the fire away from the actual house any way they could. 

Mineral County Deputy Sheriff Tony Lapinski was the first unit on the scene and said he was impressed with the efforts of passerby’s – who used shovels and anything else they could get their hands on to throw dirt on the fire. 

Deputy Lapinski also got involved, using the small fire extinguisher in his patrol car to try to smother a fire that caught underneath the porch. 

Residents and Good Samaritans also used a garden hose on the property to try to keep the blaze at bay. 

“They were very nice men,” Parker said. 

“It was good they did that because my husband is in no shape to do that.” 

Meanwhile, Superior Volunteer Fire Chief John Woodland received the page and said that at first the information was “not real clear.”  

On his way to the blaze, Chief Woodland requested mutual aid assistance from the St. Regis Volunteer Fire Department.  

“I wasn’t sure whether we were going to need additional water supply in the beginning,” Chief Woodland said. “I made that call before I got here and saw it. When you have somebody’s structure involved, and we are a long distance away from going back and getting more water, I thought the right thing to do was ask for additional assistance.” 

When the SVFD arrived on the scene, Chief Woodland saw and assessed what the situation was and began directing volunteers. 

“From there it was just a matter of getting it all knocked down, getting the wood out and making sure it was all out,” Chief Woodland said.

Volunteers from both departments worked for over two hours to douse the fire and remove all of the fire wood while soaking it. Around 1 a.m., everything was under control and the volunteers took a much needed breather. 

Chief Woodland commended the response of the St. Regis Volunteer Fire Department and said that although their water was not needed, “they got here pretty quickly from the time of the call.” 

“It was good to have them,” Chief Woodland said. 

According to Jim Warnken, the owner of the ranch, the fire was caused by a tire coming off of a semi-truck.

“It came right through the fence and hit the building,” Warnken said.