Two women badly injured in house fire

A fire that broke out at approximately 3:30 a.m. last Wednesday caused serious injuries to two La Conner area women who had to be air-lifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The fire gutted a home on Downey Road, and according to Fire District 13 Chief Roy Horn, the cause may have had something to do with the severe windstorms during the night.

On Tuesday, Deputy Fire Marshal Mark Anderson said the investigation is nearly complete and they believe the cause was an unextinguished candle, forgotten from when the residents had lost power.

The two women and a 7-year-old boy—the grandson of one of the women—were inside the home when the fire started. The child escaped unhurt.

Authorities say his grandmother received burns over 30 percent of her body and the other woman, a friend who was staying with her temporarily, suffered smoke inhalation injuries.

The two women were Kathleen Creswell and Lois Bertolino, Sheriff’s Chief Chad Clark confirmed.

According to the Skagit County Fire Marshall Office, Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputies were first on scene and pulled Bertolino out of the home. Swinomish Police officers also arrived quickly and helped bring the woman to safety. Bertolino had been overcome by the smoke and required CPR on scene.

Along with Fire District 13, McLean Road and La Conner fire departments responded.

Chief Horn said the heat generated by the blaze had to be intense.

“Everything inside is melted,” he said.

Sheriff’s Chief Clark said that when deputies Paul Pacini and Josh Case arrived on scene, they used a child’s Razor Scooter in the front yard to smash open the front windows to let the smoke out of the building.

Then they went inside and found Bertolino unconscious.

Anderson said he doesn’t believe reports that Bertolino had made it outside at one point, yet returned in an attempt to rescue a cat, which was found deceased in the house. He said she was recovering from ankle surgery and was in a cast.

A spokesperson from Harborview said on Tuesday that the women have been upgraded to serious condition rather than critical, though they remain in the Intensive Care Unit.