News - Local News

POSTED: Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009

Bellingham fire leaves Navy reservist, family homeless

BELLINGHAM - Jonathan Doeden survived three tours in Iraq as part of the Navy Reserves.

Now a fire at the Tremont Avenue home he shared with his wife and five children has left them without a place to live.

Even his uniforms and medals are gone.

Jonathan, wife Deanna Doeden and the kids, ages 3 to 13, left the house at 155 Tremont Ave. Saturday afternoon, June 27, for a barbecue at a friend's house. A few minutes later, they received a frantic call from Deanna's brother, James Wester, who is temporarily staying with the family.

He had the phone and the garden hose in the same hand as he attempted to put out the blaze, Deanna said.

Wester had been on the Internet when the power shut off. He went to check the breaker box located in a bedroom when he noticed smoke, and moments later, flames bursting from the attic.

The fire began before the family had left the house, but hadn't grown large enough to be noticeable, Deanna said.

After Wester alerted Deanna, he called 911 at 5:45 p.m. The Doedens arrived back at the house in a matter of minutes, just as Bellingham Fire Department trucks pulled up.

"It smelled like the worst barbecue you've ever been to," Deanna said. "It's an old house and there's no screens on the window, and when you go in now the carbon smell takes your breath away."

Deanna said Bellingham Fire Department officials told her the fire was caused by electrical problems with the house, which had poor wiring. Fire officials did not return several calls regarding the blaze.

The fire damage has left the couple with limited options to care for the family, as both Jonathan and Deanna are unemployed. Deanna has a back injury that limits her ability to work, and Jonathan recently lost his computer customer service job due to budget cuts. The family had rented the Tremont Avenue house from their church, New Beginnings Church of the Nazarene, which used to occupy it.

Though the house doesn't look too badly damaged from the outside, it's no longer habitable, Deanna said.

The family was able to recover a few of their things, mostly clothing, but lost almost all personal belongings, including the Navy uniforms and medals that Jonathan said gave him a proud sense of accomplishment.

'Our oldest daughter keeps asking when we can go back home," Jonathan said. "That's the hardest part - telling her that we just can't go home."

The Mount Baker Chapter of the American Red Cross came to the house the night of the fire, providing food, storage bins, toiletries and other needed items, said Wendy Hewitt, financial development director for the chapter. Red Cross workers also are getting the family in contact with resources that provide assistance to those in the armed forces.

The chapter is paying for a hotel for Wester, the Doedens and children Joseph Henson, 6, Leah Doeden, 4, and Noelle Doeden, 3. Their oldest son, Isaak Henson, 13, and their nephew Cyrrus Smith, 6, whom the couple has raised with their other children, are staying with friends.

Aid from the Red Cross will end this Friday. Jonathan said family members will be camping out in a friend's back yard, using the house for showering and cooking, until they can find a permanent place to live.

The families most pressing needs right now are the most basic: clean clothes for the kids, a job for Jonathan, and, as he puts it, "four walls and a roof."

"We are frantically looking for a new home," he said.

TO HELP

• Financial donations may be made to the Doeden family at any Banner Bank location.

• Items may be dropped off at Sunset Storage, 3423 James Street Road, across from Sunset Pond, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.