Sultan Boys & Girls Club burns

SULTAN — Fire tore through the Sultan Boys &Girls Club early Friday morning, gutting a two-story building and a smaller day care building next door.

Flames were shooting from the buildings when the first police and fire units arrived just after 1:30 a.m. Firefighters worked hard to prevent the blaze from spreading to other structures nearby.

“Both buildings are a total loss,” Sultan Police Chief Jeff Brand said. “The roof on both buildings did fall in.”

Despite the damage at 705 First St., the community quickly pulled together to make sure the club would continue serving Sultan’s children without interruption. Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick was awakened early, not long after crews arrived to battle the flames. Later that morning, she was on the phone with local leaders from the Volunteers of America and the Boys &Girls Clubs of Snohomish County.

“They’ve been an outstanding service and resource for our community,” she said.

Within hours, Volunteers of America offered up space at its Sky Valley Family and Community Resource Center, about a half block from the site of the fire.

“It all worked out well, at least temporarily,” Eslick said.

That came as welcome news to Mark Van Valkenburg, a Sultan father who appreciates the arts and crafts, games and computers available for his children. His 10-year-old son, Grant, and 8-year-old daughter, Ginger, have been going to the club for about five years.

“They really watch over the kids,” he said. “They have good people.”

Both of the damaged buildings belong to the city of Sultan. The destroyed day-care building used to serve as the City Council chambers. The Sky Valley Food Bank, located to the south of the Boys &Girls Club, suffered no damage.

The Sultan Boys &Girls Club is one of the 14 local operations run by the Boys &Girls Clubs of Snohomish County. The two-story former state Department of Natural Resources building had been its home since 1990. The club more recently started using the daycare building next door to the north.

The Boys &Girls Clubs of Snohomish County eventually hope to rebuild in Sultan, executive director Bill Tsoukalas said. They aren’t yet certain whether they will try to do that at the same spot. They plan to meet with the mayor and others next week to discuss long-term plans.

For now, they’re pleased with the quick fix to minimize the impact to children and families. Up to 100 children in the Sultan area use their services daily, Tsoukalas said.

“Everything that was there before will be open on Monday,” he said. “It may be in a different buildings, but it’s the same people.”

He thanked Eslick as well as Tulalip Tribes Chairman Mel Sheldon, who called to offer help.

The initial fire investigation, including a review of surveillance cameras, showed nothing obviously suspicious about the fire’s cause, said Brand, the city police chief. Unstable roofs, walls and other parts of the damaged buildings prevented investigators from entering.

Crews from Snohomish County Fire District 5 responded, with help from districts 3 and 26. They stayed at the scene until 5:30 a.m., Fire District 5 Lt. Ron Bertholf said.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com.

How to help

To offer help, call Sultan City Hall at 360-793-2231 or the Boys &Girls Clubs of Snohomish County at 425-258-2436. The Boys &Girls Clubs accepts donations on at www.bgcsc.org.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.