Family: Victim was just unlucky

MARYSVILLE — Despite what his family called a long streak of bad luck, Bill Hoyt never lost his optimism.

Hoyt, 52, was inside his home at the Twin Cedars mobile home park Feb. 7, when smoke from a slow-burning fire snuck up on him and stole his life.

“He was a great guy who had a long streak of bad luck,” said Krista Hunt, who was Hoyt’s niece. “He’s been through a lot more than most people can imagine.”

Hoyt suffered from muscular dystrophy, an incurable genetic illness that deteriorates a person’s muscles overtime. He was using a power wheelchair to get around but was able to do without it inside his home.

Hunt, 20, of Marysville, had cared for Hoyt since she was 11. He liked to watch wrestling and “Wheel of Fortune,” and play dominoes, Hunt said.

She described her uncle as a kind and compassionate man.

In the 1970s and ’80s, Hoyt served in the Navy and in the Army. The disease began to take a greater toll on his body in the late ’90s until “he could barely lift a can of soda anymore,” Hunt said.

Hoyt was a survivor by nature, Hunt said. In 1998, a gunman on a Metro bus in Seattle shot the driver, sending the bus off the Aurora Bridge. Hoyt was on that bus. Injuries from the accident combined with his illness put Hoyt in the wheelchair, Hunt said.

Even though the illness affected Hoyt’s body, it couldn’t destroy his spirit, Hunt said. “Uncle Bill was a very optimistic person. He always had a smile on his face.”

After the accident, Hoyt moved from Seattle to Marysville to be closer to family, Hunt said. The two often spent time at Hoyt’s favorite place in Seattle, the Pike Place Market.

“He loved Seattle,” Hunt said. “We’d go to the market, watch the people and stop to chat with his friends for a minute.”

Hoyt’s family had cared for him over the years and was always there for him, Hunt said. They set up a fund in the name of William “Bill” Hoyt to help cover the costs of his care. People can donate to the fund at any KeyBank branch.

Hoyt’s family members have been overwhelmed by his death and aren’t planning a public service, Hunt said.

The Snohomish County fire marshal’s office ruled the fire accidental. Investigators couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause but determined that either discarded cigarettes or combustibles near a space heater caught on fire.

“It was a slow and smoldering fire,” said deputy fire marshal Mikael Makela, the lead investigator in the case.

The fire likely had been smoldering for 10 or 12 hours before smoke slunk out and alerted neighbors Wayne and Rene Cortez.

The home had a smoke alarm, but it had been disconnected, Makela said.

The fire started at the coffee table in the living room, in the south side of the building, Makela said. The flames didn’t spread to the back, but toxic, black smoke slowly made its way into the north side of the house and found Hoyt in one of the two bedrooms.

People often don’t realize how easy it is to spark a house fire, Makela said. A forgotten blanket or a couch too close to a space heater can and will ignite if exposed long enough.

Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.

How to help

You can donate to the William “Bill” Hoyt fund at any KeyBank branch.