Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Kevin Nortz / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Neighbors watch as Marysville firefighters extinguish a house fire that destroyed one home and damaged a neighboring home in the 6300 block of 38th Place NE on Monday morning. Two firefighters were injured while battling the blaze.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 2 Marysville homes damaged by fire, firefighters hurt By Jackson Holtz Herald Writer MARYSVILLE -- The crackling of burning wood was loud enough Monday morning to wake up Alisha Beva. By the time she looked outside, flames were bursting out of her neighbor's home, the 17-year-old said. "It was scary. I was shaking, I was crying," Beva said. At 9:38 a.m., several people in a cul de sac just north of Sunnyside Elementary saw black smoke and flames eating away at a home in the 3800 block of 64th Avenue NE and called 911. The two-alarm fire gutted one home and did significant damage to another, said Mike Makela, a fire investigator with the Snohomish County Fire Marshal's Office. He said the fire likely started on or beneath a wooden front porch. The blaze appears to have broken through a window, spread inside the home and then reached the neighbor's house to the north, Makela said. Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked the fire, he said. They are collecting evidence and talking to witnesses. The midmorning fire sent two firefighters to the hospital with minor injuries. One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion and another was hurt when a ceiling fell on him, Marysville Fire District Battalion Chief Scott Goodale said. Shouts of "Fire!" could be heard around the block as neighbors rushed to help, said Craig Hansen, who lives a few houses away. "The whole porch was on fire," Hansen said. He knocked on the door of the home next to the fire, fearing someone might be inside, he said. As the fire took hold of the house where it started, it spread and grew. "God, this is just too hot," Hansen said. He had to back off. It took crews about 45 minutes to put the fire out, said Stephanie Price, a Marysville Fire District spokeswoman. Neighbors lined the street and watched as crews from Marysville, Lake Stevens, Getchell and Everett sprayed water at the two homes. Both homes were unoccupied during the fire, Price said. Firefighters rescued a dog from one home. A man who owns the home that was destroyed is in California, Price said. The Red Cross was called to help the three people displaced from the home that was badly damaged. The two houses are worth about $360,500 combined without factoring in land costs, according to Snohomish County property records. Makela said the home where the fire started likely is a total loss, while the second home may be able to repaired. Marysville is building a new fire station at the intersection of 40th Street NE and 71st Avenue NE, a few blocks away from Monday's fire. Completion is scheduled for November, Marysville Fire Chief Greg Corn said. Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.

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