LYNNWOOD — Dan Lindfors was in the hospital when he found out his house burned down in a fire.
"I was in a state of shock," he said. "I couldn’t believe anything worse could happen to me again. I thought I used my quota of bad luck for a while."
Lindfors said he was being treated for depression after his wife died in February following an accidental overdose.
"Also, three months ago my mother died, and that same day my truck was stolen," Lindfors said.
At the fire scene, Lindfors said he will miss the house, especially because it was in a peaceful location, tucked into a wooded area next to a pond.
"I just loved this house. I just loved it since the moment I picked it … called it my little bit of heaven in the middle of hell," Lindfors said.
Lindfors’ roommate, Gary Wilson, a renter in the house, was home at the time of the fire. He was taken to Northwest Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.
Wilson said the fire caught him by surprise.
"I was sitting in a chaise lounge in front of the house having a picnic with the cats. It was a beautiful day, and I had a boom box … I plugged it into the side of the house.
"I looked up and smelled a horrible smell and went into the house, and the house was blazing — I mean it was blazing. It was so scary, and I tried to put it out," Wilson said.
He said he tried to throw water on the fire but it kept getting bigger.
"I sort of passed out and finally I just crawled out. I got outside and started running around the neighborhood yelling ‘Help!’ " he said.
The March 11 fire gutted the house in the 3200 block of 200th Place SW, destroying all its contents. Bruce Pulver of the Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office said possible causes include an electrical short and careless smoking. Pulver estimated the loss at $35,000.
American Red Cross officials offered assistance to the two men.
"The Red Cross was amazingly nice," Wilson said. "They gave us a free voucher at a hotel and gave us a voucher for clothes … and for groceries and for Dan’s prescriptions which were lost in the fire."
Photo by Chris Goodenow
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