Snohomish fatal fire ruled accident

Published 11:03 pm Thursday, January 15, 2009

SNOHOMISH — The fire that killed two women and two children as they slept in their Snohomish mobile home has been ruled an accident, fire investigators announced Thursday.

A wall heater ignited a couch in the living room, sparking the fatal, fast-moving blaze, according to Dane Whetsel, a fire investigator with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Whetsel released the findings of his investigation into the Sept. 30 fire Thursday.

The federal investigator determined a couch had been placed in front of the 1,500-watt heater, leaving insufficient room.

Fire officials recommend that no combustibles be placed within 3 feet of any heater or wood stove. They also note that many heaters automatically will turn on when temperatures drop, even if the heaters appear to be shut off.

Investigators initially had considered the fatal fire suspicious after a specially trained dog detected signs of a flammable accelerant at the mobile home. Whetsel concluded that there was no evidence of arson.

Maria “Sandra” Montaño, 28; her daughters Ashley, 7, and Yareli, 4; and her sister, Petra “Claudia” Montaño, 25, were killed in fire. Their bodies were found in a bedroom of the mobile home in the 1300 block of Avenue D. They died of smoke inhalation.

Montaño and her sister bought the aging mobile home in Snohomish days before the fire.

The sisters, originally from Jalisco, Mexico, were among 15 siblings. They moved north to build a better life for the girls, relatives said.

Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.