As they stood outside, looking at the charred remains of their parents’ home Monday, members of the Dodge family couldn’t help but take stock.
“It could have been worse,” said Brad Dodge.
His father, stepmother, sister and three nephews got safely out of the house in the 3300 block of West Second Street before flames engulfed it at about 1 a.m. Friday, May 10.
It was his sister, Courtney, who alerted them to the flames after waking to a crackling sound on the back deck and saw the red glow from flames.
“If she hadn’t been there, we could have lost five family members,” said another brother, Andrew Dodge.
Bad went to worse quickly. When the first firefighters arrived, “the back of the house was well involved,” Anacortes Fire Chief Dave Oliveri said. The gas meter had melted and natural gas was feeding the fire; the flames also melted the sheathing around the power lines to the house, causing arcing and sparking, Oliveri said.
The fire started outside, but the cause was still under investigation, he said.