DARRINGTON — On Monday morning, Josey Haldane picked through the few remains of her parents’ gutted house on the east side of town. The burned pages of a Bible flapped in the wind beneath the skeleton of an upright piano.
A fire at the single-wide mobile home early Saturday killed Leotta Pittenger, 87, and later took the life of her grandson, Tony Haldane, 48.
During the fire, Haldane pulled Pittenger from the back bedroom and dragged her down the hall in a valiant attempt to save his grandmother’s life. Then, covered in flames, he had to retreat and ran from the house. Haldane’s wife Robin suffered burns when she tried to put out the fire on his body.
The couple’s two beloved West Highland terriers alerted the Haldanes to the smoke and died in the fire.
Haldane was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries late afternoon Saturday.
By the time firefighters arrived at 4:40 a.m., the burning home on Montague Avenue was engulfed in flames, said Fire Chief Dennis Fenstermaker of Darrington Fire District 24.
Haldane had a collection of antique firearms, but it wasn’t the exploding ammunition that slowed the firefighters, Fenstermaker said.
“By then, the fire was just so fully involved,” Fenstermaker said. “They lost everything.”
The cause of the fire continues to be investigated by the Snohomish County Fire Marshal.
Family members and friends arrived Monday to help the Haldanes’ youngest daughter Josey, 21, with the clean-up effort.
“People are being so good to us,” she said. “But all I really want is to have my dad back.”
The fire hit close to home for the fire department. Robin and Tony Haldane’s daughter Jennifer is a firefighter, and daughter Vanessa also worked with the department. Fenstermaker got to know the young women’s parents when the Haldanes trained for the Community Emergency Response Team.
“This has been hard on Darrington. Tony and Robin were very supportive of the fire department,” said secretary Trudy LaDouceur. “They helped with the annual auction and provided the dinner for our awards banquet.”
Tony Haldane and his grandmother were well known in town for their cheerful dispositions and easy smiles, fire department member Kris Pruitt said.
“Tony and Robin’s family is very close-knit,” Pruitt said.
Longtime friend Cliff Longley said Haldane was a good man.
“He didn’t demand respect, he earned it,” Longley said. “And Tony would do anything for you.”
Fenstermaker agreed.
“Trying to save (his grandmother) wasn’t about heroics,” the fire chief said. “It was instinctual.”
Tony Haldane was a member of the Darrington Bluegrass Association, an enthusiastic hunter and a well-loved grandfather.
Along with his wife Robin and daughters Josey, Vanessa, Jennifer and Knykole, Haldane is survived by several grandchildren.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
How to help
Donations to the Haldane Memorial Fund can be made at any Bank of America branch, including the Darrington banking center, 1075 Darrington St., Darrington.
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