Two Killed in Washington House Fire

May 09--Aberdeen Fire Department Chief Tom Hubbard confirmed two people died in this morning's house fire, calling it "a sad day in Aberdeen."

Firefighters were called to the 700 block of 8th Avenue in Aberdeen at about 5:10 a.m., where they searched several hours for the missing people.

Hubbard said one adult and one teen were killed. Both had been sleeping on the second floor, and one was found on the second floor, the other on the first.

Another woman was injured and taken to Grays Harbor Community Hospital.

Hubbard said when firefighters arrived, neighbors were already on scene helping to rescue an elderly couple from the home. They were also taken to the hospital for examination.

Neighbor Katrina Springer called 911 when she heard a woman screaming.

"She was screaming really loudly," Springer said. "Terrible screams."

Springer ran across the street to help the woman as she called for help on her cell phone.

"The whole house was in flames, I met her in the driveway. She was cut up pretty bad," she said.

Hubbard said the people in the home were "all loosely related," but names will be released later by the Aberdeen Police Department.

The other people in the house were relatives who came to help the couple move to Idaho, family members said.

Mark and Donna Hensel live next door and share a driveway.

Donna Hensel woke to the smell of smoke and the sound of screams. Mark Hensel grabbed a ladder and joined two other neighbors who ran to help, breaking a window to pull the elderly woman, then her husband from the home. Her husband suffers from Parkinson's disease.

"They are a very close and loving family," Donna Hensel said.

The neighbors had been planning a barbecue.

"It will be silent and sad now," she said.

Copyright 2014 - The Daily World, Aberdeen, Wash.