Blaze ravages Pasco home, leaving widow and teen granddaughter living in motel
A Pasco grandmother and her granddaughter woke up Sunday morning to alarms blaring, glass breaking and smoke filling their home.
Bonnie Gordon and her 14-year-old granddaughter escaped a two-alarm blaze on 43rd Way with their pets and pajamas and nothing else, according to Gordon and her friends and family.
“The home is a total loss and it will be days, possibly a week, before they can go in to the home to see if anything is salvageable,” said a GoFundMe account started to help them.
The blaze started outside and spread into the attic, said Ben Shearer, the Pasco Fire Department’s public information officer. Firefighters were called shortly before 9:15 a.m.
Pasco firefighters were helped on the two-alarm fire by the Richland Fire Department, Benton County Fire District 1 and Franklin County Fire District 1.
The home had working smoke alarms that helped alert Gordon and her granddaughter Bellah to the fire, Shearer said.
Firefighters remained on the scene until 1 p.m. and then returned Monday to investigate the cause.
Gordon and her granddaughter were treated on the scene for minor smoke inhalation.
Gordon said on Facebook that she woke up to the sound of a fire around her. The house was filling with smoke and she could her her granddaughter shouting for her.
As she headed toward the teen’s room, the girl came out carrying three small dogs. They made it to the front door where neighbors were trying to alert them to the danger.
After the fire
Now community members are asking for help for the two who are spending the week in a motel room.
“Over the last few years, she lost her husband and her only son,” said Dawn Owens, with the group Clean Sweep Tri-Cities. “She gives, gives and gives and never asks for anything in return.”
Gordon was a volunteer with Clean Sweep Tri-Cities, a group aimed at helping people with addiction by giving back to the community. They have organized cleaning up at parks and handing out free water during extreme heat.
Owens and Darryl Coleman, who are both members of the group, are looking to organize help for Gordon, including the GoFundMe at bit.ly/43rdHouseFire.
Classes also start soon for Bellah, so they are also looking to find school supplies and clothing, along with food and other daily needs.
People who are looking to give more directly can contact Owens by email at dmarie76@outlook.com or through the Clean Sweep Tri-Cities Facebook group.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 4:10 AM with the headline "Blaze ravages Pasco home, leaving widow and teen granddaughter living in motel."