4th Of July Means Busy Night For Firefighters

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By By April Zepeda

Summary

Firefighters responded to several firework-related calls; including a fire in Edmonds that injured three.

Story Published: Jul 5, 2005 at 8:51 AM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 24, 2009 at 12:00 PM PDT

4th Of July Means Busy Night For Firefighters
EDMONDS - Four people have lost their home in Edmonds after an illegal firework set it a blaze Monday night around 11 p.m.

The fire injured a firefighter (twisted ankle) and sent two people to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

The homeowner heard people setting off fireworks at the church behind the house, even though it was illegal in Edmonds.

The firework landed on the roof and quickly burned into the house.

"Once we found the fire in the center room, I got on the phone. There was no smoke in the living room, but by the time I hung up with 911 - it was just bellowing out. It was all kind of overwhelming," said resident, Al Humphrey.

Homeowner Shirley Gauthier spent much of the day sifting through ashes, and finding little more salvageable than clothes.

"I don't know what to say, I don't know what to think, I don't know what to do," she said.

A vacant house in Marysville also went up in flames Monday night. Neighbors heard fireworks in the area and investigators call it suspicious.

In Tacoma, two garages suffered over $30,000 in damage each when fireworks began a blaze in the 700 block of South 39th Street just after midnight.

In Des Moines, a suspected errant firework landed in a shrub and then ignited in the 21400 block of 4th Avenue South. The fire spread to the attic of the nearby house. It caused $30,000-$50,000 in damage. Those inside got out OK.

Eight people escaped from a home in Auburn, but fireworks is not to blame for that fire. An investigator says it apparently was started by gasoline fumes from a man working on a motorcycle in a garage.

And on Sunday, someone set off a firework that shot into a window at a Mill Creek Apartment Complex. It set a couch on fire and then quickly spread to 8-other units, leaving 14-people without a place to live.

Gauthier doesn't know where she'll go since she didn't have insurance. The house was paid for, so the bank didn't require a homeowner's policy.

Although there is plenty of evidence of spent fireworks in the church lot, fire investigators say it's doubtful the person responsible will ever be caught.

It might be quite a challenge to find the person who did this, unless someone saw it happen," said Edmonds Fire Marshal, John Westfall.