EVERETT – An Everett man died Sunday afternoon in a fire in his debris-filled home.
The man was found dead in the living room of the residence at 4833 Colby Ave. after the 4:35 p.m. fire, Everett Fire Marshal Warren Burns said. It took two or three searches before he was found amid a floor-to-ceiling collection of newspapers, boxes and other items, Burns said.
Neighbors said the man was Arthur Hopkins, who owned numerous parcels of land in Everett. A computer search matched Hopkins’ name with the Colby home and several other parcels, including a historic apartment building in the 2100 block of Rucker Avenue that burned two years ago. Hopkins was personally refurbishing that building, neighbors said.
Hopkins was 84, said Phil Cook, a friend and neighbor.
The cause of the fire had yet to be determined Sunday. Burns said it was confined to the front part of the home. Cook said Hopkins had a wood stove near the front door that he used regularly for heat.
Cook, who lives two doors down from Hopkins, had pulled his car out of his driveway and was driving past Hopkins’ home when he saw smoke coming through the window, he said. He turned around and saw flames, and a police officer was trying to get in, he said.
As firefighters searched inside for occupants, they tried to open the basement door but could not, Burns said. A peek inside revealed that the room was crammed full, he said. When Hopkins was found, there was no hope of saving him, Burns said.
Cook, who occasionally visited Hopkins, said there was little room to walk inside the home.
“He stopped using a garbage can about 10 years ago,” he said. That was about when Hopkins’ mother, who had lived there with him before, passed away, Cook said.
Hopkins didn’t invite many people in, neighbor Teresa Spoelstra said. “We kind of had a clue” about the junk, she said, “because he could barely open the door when we’d go to visit.”
The garage, visible to the street after firefighters opened the door, was completely filled to the top with wood, boxes and other debris. Firefighters said a 1950s-era Pontiac that had not been driven in many years was underneath, while Cook believed it was an old Model T.
More than an hour after the fire, firefighters were still shoveling piles of smoldering debris through the living room window into the yard and dousing it with fire hoses. A large dumpster was brought in shortly thereafter.
Hopkins was a waist gunner for B-24 aircraft in the South Pacific in World War II, Cook said. Cook and other neighbors described Hopkins as a hard worker who was nice to everyone. They said he never married and had no children. A cousin lives nearby on Colby, Cook said.
Hopkins developed much of the street many years ago and owned the greenbelt behind the homes on the east side of Colby, neighbors said. There, he kept a garden, beehives and small animals, said neighbor Wayne Spoelstra, who said he helped Hopkins chop wood. Hopkins also kept three cars behind his home, Cook said.
Cook said he occasionally suggested to Hopkins he get rid of the junk. “He flat out refused,” he said.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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