MUKILTEO — Two Mukilteo families returned to their fire-ravaged houses on Thursday to sift through the debris.
Friends and neighbors joined the Kornegay family at the damaged home where they’ve lived for 24 years. Some brought potted flowers to set out front while the family gathered what items they could from inside. They stretched damp clothing across the grass to dry. They also dismantled the garage door to retrieve the BMW their teenage son had worked to buy.
Wednesday’s fire that burned two houses and two cars likely was caused by a battery charger, officials said.
The fire was ruled an accident. Damage was estimated at $846,000.
The fire started in the garage of a home in the 5600 block of 110th Place SW. The owner recently had returned from a vacation and connected the battery of a Sea-Doo personal watercraft to a car-battery charger, according to the Mukilteo Fire Department.
“It wasn’t too long after that they smelled smoke,” Assistant Fire Chief Brian McMahan said.
The fire spread to the roof of the Kornegay house next door, about 10 feet away.
Both families were displaced. The Kornegays’ roof was gone, exposing the upstairs bedrooms. Their neighbors’ home, where the fire started, was a total loss. Embers also started grass fires in two nearby yards.
The couple who own the destroyed house were taken to the hospital where they were treated and released. On Thursday, they posted signs and handed out fliers asking neighbors to keep an eye out for their Schnauzer, Oddie, missing since the fire.
The man had bandages on his arms from fighting the flames. He and his wife were treated for smoke inhalation.
It was the biggest fire in Mukilteo since the 2010 unsolved arson at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building, McMahan said.
“It was just ripping” in the garage, McMahan said. “It was a tremendous amount of heat.”
The heat from the fire weakened an underground natural gas line, causing a leak between the two houses.
“The gas was coming up, and you could see the flames were burning from underground,” McMahan said.
Crews had to let the gas line continue to burn, he said. Otherwise, fire could have spread underground without them knowing.
Utility workers had to dig nearly five feet underground to pinch off the line, he said. It was permanently capped for safety.
Firefighters remained on scene until early Thursday morning, while investigators continued to work into the afternoon.
Damage to the first property was estimated at $413,000 for the house’s market value and $100,000 in contents. That doesn’t include $40,000 for the Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Highlander that burned in the driveway.
Damage at the Kornegay home included about $213,000 to the building and $80,000 in contents, McMahan said.
The fire department is planning to schedule a community meeting for neighbors. Mukilteo also appreciates the help provided by crews from Lynnwood and fire districts 1 and 7, he said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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