Grieving father: 'I can't stand by and watch anymore'

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By Luke Duecy

Summary

John lost his two daughters and their grandmother when a fire swept through their apartment. They were found curled up together by their bed. And Ryken claims the tragedy could've been avoided.

Story Published: Dec 31, 2009 at 7:54 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jan 1, 2010 at 9:47 AM PDT

Grieving father: 'I can't stand by and watch anymore'
CURLEW, Wash. -- John Ryken doesn't feel much like celebrating this New Year's Eve.

Just last week, he lost two daughters and their grandmother when a fire swept through their apartment. They were found curled up together by their bed.

And Ryken claims it was no accident.

"It's something I can't stand by and watch anymore," he said.

Ryken says the landlord couldn't get the furnace in the basement to work properly. It had caused problems in the past.

"It would take him months to fix it, didn't want to buy parts," he said.

As a result, Ryken claims, the landlord told his wife and 30 other tenants to turn on their ovens and open the doors to heat up the place.

"(He said) 'If the furnace goes out and you can't heat it, use your oven, but use it responsibly.' They shouldn't have to worry about that," said Ryken.

Investigators say one of those ovens accidentally sparked the fatal fire, and now Ryken wants someone to answer for his loss.

At the burn center at Harborview Medical Center, he waits and helps his wife recover after sustaining burns on half of her body.

The grief-stricken father also thinks about his daughters, Gail and Helen, and what taught him in their short lives.

"My kids blessed me in more ways than I can imagine. They helped me to grow up," he said.

He's made them a promise: he'll make sure their mom gets well.

"And that's what my kids would expect from me. That's what my kids would expect me to do," said Ryken. "They'd expect me to take care of their mom and make sure she gets all right, that she survives from all this."

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KXLY-TV in Spokane contributed to this report.