EVERETT, Wash. — Just before 6 p.m. on Thursday, a construction site on the Everett waterfront burst into flames.
Winds picked up embers from the fire and carried them into a neighborhood on the bluff, just west of where the fire was.
“With the burning debris that was showering our neighborhood and landing on the streets, I was like 'there’s probably going to be houses that are going to be catching on fire,'” said Sheldon Anderson, a resident in the impacted neighborhood.
He then noticed smoke rising from his neighbors’ roof.
Anderson alerted a nearby police officer and got to work with nine other neighbors. They grabbed hoses and ladders and started working to extinguish the flames.
Everett firefighters were hard at work on the big fire on the waterfront. They called in back up from multiple different agencies.
It took over 30 minutes before a fire crew made it to the home on Rucker Avenue and 16th Street.
“At a certain point, we knew that we weren’t going to be able to save it, so for me, it changed to 'let’s get all her valuables out, the possessions you can’t replace,'” Anderson explained.
Debbie Wise was out on the bluff watching the massive fire on the waterfront consume the apartment complex that was being built.
She got a call from her daughter saying their house had caught fire and rushed the few blocks up to her home.
“All the neighbors that were already here, they had hoses out, they had the ladder up and it was truly amazing, what the neighbors did,” said Wise.
The damage is worse than originally expected. The home the Wises lived in since 2004 is a total loss.
“I thought I was going to get a new roof. Didn’t think I was going to get a new house,” said homeowner Roger Wise.
They’ve lost a house but gained the trust and love of their neighbors.
“If this interview does anything it’s to, you know, give glory to God and thank our neighbors for all the help that they did. It was truly amazing,” Debby said.
“It’s somebody’s home, you know, that they love. You certainly don’t want to get hurt seriously falling off a roof or die but you want to help your neighbor anyway you can,” Anderson said.
