LYNNWOOD — An elderly man without insurance lost his home in an arson Thursday after a suspected burglary, officials said.
The fire was discovered late Thursday morning while the man was at work. About 11:20 a.m., people started calling 911 to report smoke and flames coming from the home in the 14400 block of Madison Way.
The fire caused more than $350,000 in damages to the home north of Lynnwood.
Snohomish County Fire District 1 and Lynnwood crews extinguished the blaze in about 20 minutes.
No one was home and no injuries were reported, officials said.
The fire remains under investigation.
The man, believed to be in his late 70s, won’t be able to determine everything that is missing because the extent of damage caused by the fire, Snohomish County Fire Marshal investigator Gary Bontrager said. The man does know that jewelry and watches are gone.
Bontrager said burglary is suspected because drawers had been pulled out of dressers and contents from the garage were found inside the home.
“When the first firefighters arrived, most of the house was already engulfed in flames, making it unsafe for crews to enter the structure,” Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said.
About 25 firefighters from Fire District 1 and Lynnwood attacked the fire from outside the house. Firefighters remained on the scene into the afternoon extinguishing hot spots.
Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the county fire marshal’s office at 425-388-3557.
Eric Stevick: stevick@heraldnet.com, stevick@heraldnet.com
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