An overnight fire destroyed a Salmon Creek house, displacing three people and killing one of their dogs. Firefighters returned to the scene Wednesday afternoon after flames erupted amid the ruins of the home.
Crews from Clark County Fire District 6 were called to a blaze at 1900 N.E. 122nd St. at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, agency spokesman Dave Schmitke said.
Firefighters arrived to find the house engulfed in flames and the three people who lived there already outside, Schmitke said.
Firefighters attacked the blaze from the outside for 20 minutes before entering the house, extinguishing the fire in about 40 minutes, he said.
Elizabeth Tallmadge said she was nearby for her nanny job when she received word from her fiancé, who was back home, that their house was on fire.
Her fiancé woke to a bright light in the house from the fire, and rushed to rouse her brother, who uses sleeping pills, she said. They got out, but it was too late to check for the dogs.
“By the time he went back there was just a wall of flames,” she said. By the time she got there, there wasn’t much to do but watch as the fire engulfed the building.
One of their dogs, Pepper, did not survive the fire, Tallmadge said. Firefighters pulled him out some time later, and it appeared he had died of smoke inhalation.
A family member adopted him a few years ago, she said. Pepper, a Labrador retriever-whippet mix, was about 4 years old then.
“He was super abused from his past life, he had scars all over him. He was just a rough dog,” she said. After the family member couldn’t take care of him anymore, she took him in.
“I have a soft spot for things with hard lives,” she said. “He was the sweetest thing in the entire world.”
Their other dog, Aries, was able to get out of the house, and Tallmadge returned later that day to find her kitten, Hollis.
The one-story house was a total loss, and Clark County Assistant Fire Marshal Richard Martin said the fire did an estimated $100,000 in damage to the structure and its contents. According to property records, the house is owned by Cynthia and Thomas Severson of Vancouver.
The fire started on the porch of the house and spread to the attic, Schmitke said. Martin said the fire was likely caused by improperly discarded smoking materials.
The three didn’t have renters insurance. Kellie Kauffman, whom Tallmadge nannies for, organized an online fundraising campaign at GoFundMe.com under “Elizabeth and Alexander’s Fund” to help out.
They have next to nothing, Tallmadge said. Her fiancé ran out of the house in shorts.
“We have literally no idea what we’re supposed to do,” she said, adding grimly that she turns 21 in couple of days.
Tallmadge said they’ve found family to stay with in the meantime.
A second fire erupted in the home about 4 p.m. District 6 firefighters came back to the house, which was fully involved in flames.
Schmitke said the re-lit fire burned intensely enough that firefighters had to work indirectly and use a defensive strategy.
Typically, firefighters use the minimum amount of water needed to extinguish a fire, he said, because too much water can add to the total damage.
“Sometimes, this is what happens,” he said.
Once firefighters were able to keep the flames from reaching nearby trees and power lines, they soaked what remained of the wreckage and capped it off with a solution of firefighting foam and water, he said.
