3 fires force 21 from Marysville homes
Published 12:01 am Saturday, January 1, 2011
MARYSVILLE — A series of house fires here in the past three days has displaced 21 people.
“Three nights in a row — that’s unusual,” said Kristen Thorstenson, spokeswoman for the Marysville Fire District. “This is 21 people in three days and three homes.”
The first fire started around 11 p.m. Wednesday in the 4000 block of 132nd Place Northeast.
A man followed the smell of smoke to a bedroom. The room was on fire, and he told his family to get out of the house. He tried to find a fire extinguisher but didn’t.
Firefighters were able to stop the blaze before it consumed the entire house. Damage is estimated at more than $150,000.
Dispatchers sent crews to another fire early Friday in the 11100 block of State Avenue. Firefighters arrived at around 2 a.m. to find the porch on fire.
Flames crawled up the wood siding and into the home’s attic.
Investigators later determined the likely cause of the blaze was a discarded cigarette placed in a container that had been set on top of a Styrofoam ice chest.
The damage to that home is estimated at $100,000. Five residents were displaced.
A third blaze sent firefighters to a home in the 4300 block of 94th Place Northeast around lunch time Friday.
The firefighters were able to contain the fire to the garage. Officials believe the fire was caused by a damaged extension cord that set off combustible materials nearby.
Smoke damage throughout the home made it uninhabitable to the family of 10. Those 10 included guests who had come to stay for the holidays.
One man was sent to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett with chest pains. And another member of the family, a woman, was brought to the hospital with a broken arm.
Thorstenson said it wasn’t clear how the woman broke her arm.
That home sustained an estimated $100,000 in damage.
All the Marysville families displaced by the three fires are being assisted by the Red Cross.
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197; dsmith@heraldnet.com.
