Fire Destroys Meadows Brick Schoolhouse
On the afternoon of Monday, March 24, 2025 flames were spotted in the attic of the Meadows Brick Schoolhouse located at 3217 Main Street/Vet Clinic Road in old Meadows. Two members of the New Meadows Fire crew called the fire in as they approached on Highway 55 from McCall. The building, which has been used as a home, was occupied by residents at the time. All residents along with multiple pets were evacuated safely. Local community support was quick to help the displaced family. While the outer buildings around the property were saved, the former schoolhouse turned vet clinic and home was declared a total loss.
Fire Chief Doug Buys along with New Meadows Fire Crew, Meadows Valley Rural Fire District, and a Water Tender Fire Truck and crew from McCall Fire Department worked until late in the evening taking defensive action and navigating multiple obstacles to tame the fire. Much of the crew stayed on site until 1:30 a.m. Buys remained on site throughout the night tending to hot spots and ensuring the out buildings remained safe.
Since a secure water source was not available on the property, crews shuttled water from within New Meadows giving the updated water system a good test. Thankfully the updated system passed with flying colors as crews brought thousands of gallons to the scene filling two 3,000 gallon drop tanks used as portable water pools multiple times.
The property is located on a single lane road and navigating obstacles including tight quarters, snow, ice, and mud, along with setting up a temporary water source made fire fighting a complicated task. Some of the New Meadows Fire Fighters had just the day before completed a Short Hand Fire Tactics and Fire Essentials training course with Clearwater Fire Academy. “I guarantee the Essentials training helped them on scene…despite the total loss of the brick building, I am very proud of my crew for the work they did and that the external buildings were not lost,” said Chief Buys.
The cause of the fire was undetermined by Meadows Valley. The Idaho State Fire Marshall was also contacted and due to the intensity of the fire and lack of remaining evidence, they also mark the cause as undetermined.
