LYNNWOOD — Chloe Broussard couldn’t stop thinking about the people who lost their homes in the Lynnwood apartment fire on Monday.
Chloe, 9, saw the flames and couldn’t shake the memory.
“I was thinking about all the poor people who had to rush out of there and leave their stuff,” she said Wednesday night.
After the fire, Chloe and her brother, Colby, 4, started going through their toys.
Chloe told her mom, Karen Broussard, that she had a job to do. She needed to start collecting clothes and toys for those in her community who lost everything.
Karen Broussard liked the idea, creating a Facebook page to invite family and friends over for a donation drive.
“I just cannot believe how this has taken off,” she said. “It’s been an overwhelming response.”
Chloe decided she better check the donations, just in case someone gave “bad stuff.” She got a kick of a donated Snuggie, a blanket with sleeves that is often seen in late night infomercials.
“I’m most excited for when the stuff gets over to the people that were the victims in the fire,” she said.
Karen Broussard plans to be up early Saturday brewing coffee and baking cookies for those who stop by. The Broussard family will take donations at their home at 18710 60th Avenue W from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
“After that, we’ll just start carting it up there,” Broussard said, referring to the new official drop-off spot.
She is proud of her daughter for taking the initiative to help.
“She’s got a heart of gold,” she said of Chloe.
The Red Cross shelter at Trinity Lutheran Church is expected to remain open for another week, officials said Wednesday.
John Kroack said he and the other fire victims are overjoyed with the community’s response.
“I know all of us here are extremely grateful and blessed with this generous outpouring,” he said.
Kroack said he is picking up the pieces and going back to work Monday. He moves into his new apartment in a few days.
Meanwhile, officials continue to investigate the fire’s cause, but they have turned the building over to its owners, Everett-based Williams Investments.
Because of warmer weather Monday afternoon, many people living in the building had their windows and doors open. When the fire broke out the extra oxygen made for fast-moving flames, Lynnwood Fire Marshal LeRoy McNulty said Thursday.
City and fire officials are trying to get people safely back into the building so they can try to salvage belongings.
“We will do whatever we can to help them out,” McNulty said.
One man pleaded with them to look for his savings. The $1,200 he had tucked away in an envelope was all he had.
The envelope was in a closet. A fire investigator found only $40 in change and scorched paper scraps among the closet’s “skeletal remains,” McNulty said.
They did find two cats alive in the building Wednesday. The building’s owner helped return them to their family. The cats, including one named Precious, were hungry and filthy but OK, McNulty said.
Firefighters kicked open a lot of apartment doors while searching for people during the fire, so it’s likely more pets did escape, he said.
The building owners are doing everything they can to help those displaced, McNulty said.
The company met with contractors Thursday morning. A contractor will temporarily bolster the building so people can try to salvage belongings, Office Manager Louann Hackworth said
“They’re trying to get the structure safe, to get the tenants back in as soon as possible,” she said.
The 41-year-old building was built before sprinklers were required. Lynnwood firefighters trained there three times a year.
Hackworth couldn’t comment on whether the company will be reviewing fire safety at its other properties. For now, they’re meeting with city officials and contractors and trying to make sure everyone gets relocated.
“We do take into consideration what just happened,” she said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com
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