Darrington man, woman die in home fire

Published 8:29 pm Saturday, January 29, 2011

DARRINGTON — Fire in a Darrington mobile home early Saturday morning killed an elderly woman and the man who tried to save her life.

The woman, who was in her 80s, died in the home; the man, who was in his late 40s, died later at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Firefighters were called to the single-wide structure at around 4:40 a.m.

By the time they arrived, the home on the 700 block of Montague Ave. was engulfed in flames, Snohomish County Fire District 24 Chief Dennis Fenstermaker said.

The fire chief said there was nothing firefighters could do to save the woman by the time they arrived.

Firefighters used extra precaution because of ammunition in the house.

“It was popping off during the most intense part of the fire,” he said.

The man’s wife escaped through a sliding glass door with minor burns, Fenstermaker said.

The man tried to rescue the elderly woman from a back bedroom, Fenstermaker said.

“At some point, he was on fire and had to leave her,” the fire chief said.

The man, who was badly burned, was taken by ambulance to the Arlington Municipal Airport, where he was flown by helicopter to Harborview. He died in the late afternoon.

The man was able to talk with firefighters and an ambulance crew at the fire scene, but his body “systematically shut down from the trauma of the burns,” Fenstermaker said.

The fire department did not release the names of the two who died.

An investigator from the Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office was examining the burned-out home Saturday afternoon in search of a cause of the fire.

Two dogs also were believed to have died in the fire. Their barking woke up the man and his wife.

The fire hit close to home for members of the fire department.

One of the couple’s daughters is a volunteer for the department. Another daughter used to be part of the department.

The entire family has been supporters of the fire district, cooking meals for annual dinners, Fenstermaker said.

A third daughter recently moved into the home, but was not there at the time of the fire.

The family lost everything in the fire, Fenstermaker said.

People in town were beginning to organize a relief fund for the family Saturday, he said.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.