House Fire Kills 2 On Christmas -- Blaze Starts In Fireplace Structure; Electrical Power Had Been Shut Off

BURIEN - The one-story house with a basement sits on the corner of 12th Avenue South and South 128th Street in an area locals know as Boulevard Park. It's a house that could have used some fixing up.

These were hard times for the men who lived there. Two were unemployed. A third worked, but there still wasn't enough money to pay all the bills. The electricity had been cut off, leaving the basement fireplace as the sole source of heat.

That caused a condition called pyrolysis, a breakdown of the material around the fireplace from constant heat, and a house fire that killed two men early Christmas Day.

Trevor Johnson, 30, and his housemate, Dean Holm, 37, died in the fire.

King County Fire Marshal Scott LaVielle said the hearth and firebox broke apart and the wood underneath was ignited. Smoke and flames shot up through a vent and then spread through the house.

"When you use a fireplace in a house that's so old, and you use it a lot, it can happen," LaVielle said. "It's a rare occurrence."

The fire was extinguished within a half hour. By that time, it had killed both men and destroyed the house, an estimated $95,000 loss.

On Christmas Eve, a group of old friends, all longtime neighborhood residents, got together at the house, said James Gifford, the third housemate and the owner of the building.

Gifford left about 7:30 p.m. and spent the night elsewhere.

Remaining at the gathering were Holm, Johnson and another man. Gifford said the other man didn't leave the house until early in the morning, returning less than an hour later to find fire trucks.

There were smoke detectors in the house but the batteries were not hooked up, said LaVielle.

A neighbor, awakened by his dog, saw smoke coming from the basement about 4 a.m. He called the Fire Department, then knocked on the door of the house. No one answered, he said.

By the time firefighters arrived, said LaVielle, the fire was raging in the basement with heavy smoke on the first floor.

Johnson apparently had tried to escape and was found at the front door. Medics tried to revive him at the scene, but he died about a half hour later.

Holm was found dead on the sofa in the living room, LaVielle said.

Yesterday morning, Gifford stood outside his house, which had been owned by his family for more than 25 years. He took down the yellow police tape that surrounded it, and cried.

Gifford had known Holm since the first grade at Riverton Heights Elementary. They grew up together, two houses apart, and went through three schools together in the Boulevard Park/Riverton Heights area.

Both graduated from the former Glacier High School, where they were on the wrestling team together. Gifford then lost track of Holm for several years. He later learned Holm was working as a machinist and raising a family.

When Holm's relationship broke apart and he needed somewhere to go, Gifford took him in. "There was no question in my mind where he was going to go. He's been here since (1996)," Gifford said. "He was my best friend."

Holm had a 12-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter, who live with their mother in the area.

Gifford met Johnson about six years ago when both men were hired to lay tile.

Johnson had many skills, such as roofing and concrete work, Gifford said, but he was recently unemployed. He had an 8-year-old daughter. Johnson was going through some hard times, said Joy Seals, who met him several years ago when she worked at a nearby convenience store.

Seals let him stay with her and her son on several occasions. He was, she said, her best friend.

After Seals delivered flowers to the house yesterday morning, she broke down in tears.

"I just saw Trevor yesterday," she said. "My car broke down. He took time out to help me pick up some food."

Times reporter Carole Beers contributed to this report.

Florangela Davila's phone message number is 206-464-2916. Her e-mail address is: fdav-new@seatimes.com