EVERETT — He took a garden hose to a fire as it burned his brother’s home on 5000 block of Ocean Avenue Monday afternoon.
Steve Elke believes his 76-year-old brother, Mike Elke, is the man Everett firefighters found dead when they arrived to put out the blaze just after 1:30 p.m.
Steve Elke, 67, spotted smoke and flames on his way from the grocery store to his home across the street.
He tried to get into his brother’s burning two-story house, south of W. Mukilteo Boulevard. It was too hot and the black smoke was too thick.
“That’s when I knew,” he said. “It was too far gone.”
Everett Fire Marshal Rick Robinson said crews carried an elderly man out of the house before putting out the blaze. He could not confirm the name of the man who was found dead.
Steve Elke said his brother, a retired electrical engineer, lived most of his life in the house.
Their parents, Gus and Lottie Elke, bought it in the 1940s when they moved to Everett from Yakima. Gus Elke worked in the shipyard to support the family.
A neighbor bought the house several years ago but allowed Mike Elke, who never married or had children, to live there, his brother said.
He talked about how Mike Elke enjoyed trapshooting and building model airplanes.
“Tell everybody you love them because you never know when the last time will be,” he said as he watched firefighters from his driveway Monday afternoon.
Much of the yellow paint that covered the home was stained black from smoke. The roof over the front porch collapsed.
The house was destroyed, Robinson said. He did not immediately have details about how the blaze started. Crews will continue to investigate.
Firefighters planned stay at the scene through Monday night to monitor hot spots.
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports
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