TULALIP — A man suffered severe injuries and four others were displaced in a house fire Tuesday afternoon on the Tulalip Reservation, authorities said.
Around 2:30 p.m., neighbors heard an explosion in the 2800 block of 81st Street NE, followed by a fire. Firefighters responded to a report that a “mushroom cloud” was rising from the single-story home. The blast and fire ripped a hole in the roof and walls, at one corner of the house.
Medics transported a man in his late 30s with burn injuries to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, according to the Marysville Fire District.
Three children and a dog escaped with little to no injuries, Tulalip Police Chief Chris Sutter said Tuesday. He described the man as severely injured.
About two dozen fire trucks, ambulances and police vehicles flooded the Ed Williams Street cul-de-sac.
The small community is tight-knit, said a neighbor who was doing dishes at the time of the explosion. One of her children told her their neighbor’s house was on fire, she said, so she grabbed a fire extinguisher and went out to help.
“We’re close and all get along,” said the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous. “Their kids know my kids.”
The woman’s family gave the children clothes after they escaped the burning home.
An hour later, a sulfur-like smell still clung to the air. The house remained standing, though smoke billowed under the eaves. Damage to the home was estimated at over $150,000.
“My whole house shook,” another neighbor said, who also declined to give a name.
The explosion caused another woman’s front door to blow open. She was used to the sound of fireworks near the Fourth of July, but “nothing like this.”
The Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Washington State Patrol bomb squad were investigating the explosion.
Sutter said fireworks were a potential cause, but it was too early to tell.
Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @snocojon.
Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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