Pair save woman in burning house

Bruce Markham and Byron Strolberg didn’t know Violet Brown or each other, but they didn’t think twice about working together to save the 87-year-old Lynnwood woman from her burning house on Thursday.

"I think it’s everybody’s duty to help people out if they need it. It should be a built-in sense of duty," Strolberg said.

Brown’s home, in the 16900 block of 44th Avenue W. in Lynnwood, was one of two destroyed by fire Thursday. Three other people also were forced from their house after it was gutted by fire in the 13500 block of 26th Place W. south of Everett.

The fires happened at almost the same time just a few miles from each other. They were not related, and fire inspectors believe both were started accidentally.

Markham and Strolberg were driving by Brown’s house when they spotted smoke. Brown was trapped on her back porch after flames blocked the front door, Lynnwood fire inspector LeRoy McNulty said.

"Glass was falling all around. There were flames everywhere. The power line burned down and was sparking," Markham said.

Markham, 57, was driving to his Lynnwood home when he saw smoke pouring from the little house. He found Brown on a small bench on the back porch, unable to walk down a steep flight of stairs.

Markham took hold of the woman and helped her off the porch. Strolberg, 31, of Arlington jumped in after hearing Markham yell for help.

Both men walked alongside Brown until she was safe, Strolberg said.

"The (porch) roof collapsed as soon as we got to the bottom of the stairs," Markham said.

Brown was taken to Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, where she was treated for smoke inhalation, McNulty said.

He said the two men saved the woman’s life.

While Lynnwood firefighters battled that blaze, Snohomish County Fire District 1 firefighters scrambled to find the other burning house.

The nearest crew already was out on a medical call. The second closest firefighters were two miles away, but they were sent to a Bothell address five miles from the burning house, district spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said.

It’s likely someone on a cellphone called 911 and gave dispatchers an incorrect address, she said.

Firefighters arrived 14 minutes after getting the first call, Hynes said. If they’d been given the right address, they would have arrived within five minutes, she said.

"The house was fully involved when we got there," Hynes said.

The fire spread to nine vehicles parked around the house, and flames shot up a nearby tree.

"It took too long for them to get here. There are fire departments all around here," resident Timothy Johnson said. "We might have been able to save our cars or something."

Johnson, who rents the home, and two roommates heard crackling and popping noises before discovering the fire in a back room. Flames raced through the house.

"The roof collapsed. Flames were shooting out of everywhere. All the cars were on fire, and there were some explosions," said Gerauld Tuggle, who lives down the street.

A faulty dryer caused the blaze, county Deputy Fire Marshal Bruce Pulver said.

Johnson, who had lived in the house for 20 years, said he has renter’s insurance. Thursday afternoon, he wasn’t sure where he and his friends would live.

"Everything was in there," he said.

Reporter Diana Hefley:

425-339-3463 or

hefley@heraldnet.com.

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