Firefighter injured in suspicious Sultan fire that damages two houses

Published 7:58 pm Sunday, July 10, 2011

SULTAN — A firefighter was hurt and two families are without homes tonight after a suspicious fire early Sunday morning.

The quick-burning fire nearly obliterated a home on the 100 block of Willow Avenue and damaged the second-story of the next door house too, said Sultan fire chief Merlin Halverson.

People living in both homes, including a pregnant woman and two toddlers, escaped without harm.

A firefighter searching for people inside the house hurt his knee after falling part way through the second-story floor, Halverson said.

The firefighter was transported to the hospital and later released.

The first indication of trouble came when the homeowner woke up just before 5 a.m. and heard crackling, Halverson said.

He went downstairs to investigate and saw an orange glow outside his window. The man opened the door and saw flames. He got his wife and two young children out the back door and called 911.

“It’s very odd to me,” Halverson said. “It’s odd for a house to catch fire from the exterior.”

The oddness doesn’t end there.

A police officer had driven by the house minutes before and didn’t see any flames, Halverson said.

The police officer was on her way to talk to an Everett man who said he’d been assaulted by 20 men. After the police officer took his statement, she drove back past the house and saw flames.

Meanwhile, the assault victim walked the few blocks to the burning house, grabbed a garden hose, and started fighting the fire. He had to be pulled away from the scene for his own safety.

The flames were so hot and high they were melting the door handles and trim off cars parked on the street, Halverson said.

“It’s unusual,” he said. “I still can’t explain how that officer could drive through and see nothing and a few minutes later a house fire is in full bloom.”

The people living in the home were fortunate, Halverson said.

“Smoke detectors don’t go off when the fire is on the outside of the house,” he said. “The windows blow out and by that time the fire is well advanced.”

Firefighters from Monroe and Gold Bar helped fight the blaze. The homes on that block are packed together tightly, with eaves just a few feet apart, he said. If the wind had been blowing, it could have been far worse.

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197; dsmith@heraldnet.com.