Investigators: Girl had access to blowtorch before deadly motor home fire

Investigators initially thought the fire that killed a 2-year-old girl in a motor home in Oldtown, Idaho, had started with electrical wiring, but new evidence suggests she had access to a handheld blowtorch, authorities said Thursday. Bonner County Undersheriff David Hale said the girl, Genevieve Brouillette, may have inadvertently started the fire that consumed the motor home around 8 p.m. Tuesday at 4039 Hoo Doo Loop. Hale said several adults, including Yates’ stepfather, Fredrick Ferree, were at or near the camper and were unharmed. Yates’ mother, Jenne Brouillette, was at work in Coeur d’Alene, Hale said. The Spirit Lake and West Pend Oreille fire departments put out the fire within 20 minutes of arrival, Spirit Lake Fire Marshal Wayne Noacki said. It destroyed the motor home but did not spread. Noacki said there were “all kinds of illegal electrical wiring” running from the camper to various appliances outside. Hale said a permanent “homestead-like structure” is near the rural site. Neither could comment on the living circumstances of the family. The incident is under investigation and no criminal charges have been filed. This article was changed on July 16, 2015 to change the address, the name of the victim and the spelling of the stepfather’s last name due to incorrect information provided by law enforcement.