Sandeep Kaushik, a spokesman for the Burner campaign, said the fire broke out about 7:45 a.m. at the home on West Ames Lake Dr. Northeast near Carnation.

Burner credits her 5-year-old son Henry for helping get everyone out alive. She says he noticed smoke in his room and started yelling to wake up the family.

"Henry is absolutely the hero in all of this," Darcy Burner said. "He did absolutely the right thing. He could have reacted very differently than he did, but he did exactly the right thing. He woke up, he woke us up, he got out of the house."

The family tried to rescue their golden retriever, but they had to run for it when the ceiling began to collapse. They all made it out safely.

Firefighters found the dog in the back bedroom standing in a foot of water but otherwise OK.

"These brave first responders even miraculously rescued my son's puppy, who we initially thought had perished in the flames," Burner said.

The family cat, Charlotte, however, did not survive.

Firefighters from several nearby departments responded to the 911 call and found flames on all sides of the house and coming from the roof.

There were few fire hydrants nearby, so crews had to use tankers to bring in water needed to battle the blaze.

As flames moved through the structure, firefighters made the decision at 8 a.m. to fight the fire defensively from the outside.

Burner said she and her family have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support in the wake of their loss.

"I am so moved by all of the offers of a place to stay, or clothes to wear, or all of the other offers of help that have poured in throughout the day.," she said.

Burner said she and her family are doing fine, and urged anyone who wishes to do something to express their support to make a contribution to the local humane society or animal shelter in memory of Charlotte, or to the Washington State Council of Firefighters Benevolent Fund.

Reichert narrowly defeated Burner in 2006 to win a second term, and the 8th District race in the suburbs east of Seattle is one of the most closely watched in the country.

The 8th District has never elected a Democrat, but voters favored Democrat John Kerry in 2004.

Burner, a former Microsoft manager, has continued her campaign against Reichert since losing in her first political bid in 2006. She has sought to tie him to the Bush administration, and criticized his support for the troop "surge" in Iraq.

Reichert, a career law-enforcement officer in the Seattle area and former King County sheriff, points to his experience and his centrist credentials, including instances when he's broken ranks with Republican leaders.