A firefighter and Fire Inspector Sam Patrick stand in debris from a house fire in Winlock on Thursday, Feb. 26.
The Lewis County Coroner’s Office has released the names of a woman and two young girls who died as the result of a house fire in Winlock last Thursday.
Coroner Warren McLeod reported that Samantha Koehler, 31; Bethany Cuvreau, 4; and Tabitha Cuvreau, 2, all died as a result of asphyxia due to smoke inhalation in the fire that destroyed a house in the 800 block of Northeast First Street.
The identifications come six days after the fire, which was reported through several 911 calls just after 2:30 a.m. Feb. 26. Fire crews arrived within minutes and spoke to a man and two children, who said a woman and two young girls did not make it outside with them.
Investigators combed through the rubble of the home for hours after the fire was fully extinguished, making periodic announcements throughout the day and finally announcing that afternoon they had recovered what they initially called “unidentifiable remains” of three victims.
McLeod told The Chronicle late Wednesday morning that the remains of all three were recovered at the scene, but they had been so significantly burned that he and his staff had to make what he called a circumstantial identification.
“Dental records weren’t an option, and DNA wasn’t an option either,” McLeod said. “We had to base them on a series of circumstances. We knew the home was occupied by six people, we recovered some clothing items — which we generally try not to use — but we weren’t expecting that we would find anyone else.”
The coroner’s office had initiated a hand and sifting search through the debris for remains, and had expected the process of identifying the remains to take one to three days. McLeod said the process to identify Koehler and the two young girls took a significant amount of time and resources.
Meanwhile, there’s no word yet as to just what caused the fire. Neighbors and witnesses reported hearing explosions from the scene, but Winlock Police Chief Terry Williams has stated he could not confirm if there were any. Another neighbor told The Chronicle the fire had burned so intensely that steam was coming off his home next door.
The fire had a profound effect on the Winlock community, evidenced by scores of local residents and people connected to the area participating in a candlelight vigil last Thursday evening. Donations for those who made it out safely have continued to be accepted at Umpqua Bank locations across Lewis County.
