Fatal Snohomish fire likely accidental (Seattle Times)

Fatal Snohomish fire likely accidental
A fire that killed two women and two children just days after they moved into their trailer in Snohomish was almost certainly accidental, according to police.

By Christine Clarridge

Seattle Times staff reporter

A fire that killed two women and two children just days after they moved into their trailer in Snohomish was almost certainly accidental, according to police.

Snohomish Police Chief John Turner said Tuesday that a heater and power strip were found in the area of the trailer where fire investigators believe the Sept. 30 blaze began. He stressed the investigation has not been closed, however, and police are still waiting for conclusive information from the state crime lab, he said.

The fire at the Snohomish Mobile Home and RV Park claimed the lives of "Sandra" Maria del Carmen Montaño Reynaga, 28; her two daughters, Ashley Morales-Montaño, 7, and Yarely Morales, 3; and her sister, "Claudia" Petra Montaño Reynaga, 25.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office has not yet released the official causes of death for the victims, but police have said that they were told all four died in their bedrooms of smoke inhalation.

The fire was reported just before 7 a.m. by passers-by who saw flames and smoke shooting out the front entrance of the single-wide trailer in the 1300 block of Avenue D. The fire was initially investigated as a possible arson after a specially trained dog detected a flammable accelerant in the wreckage. But Turner said the accelerant could have been any one of a number of common household liquids, such as nail polish or lighter fluid.

Police also interviewed the man who sold the women the trailer for $4,000 not long before they moved in.

He was eliminated by police of having any involvement in the fire but has since been arrested by immigration officials, who say he has been living in the country illegally since 2002.

Jose Ramon Garcia-Ayala was charged with possession of a fraudulent immigration document in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday, the same day he was arrested by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida, who ordered him held without bail pending a preliminary hearing Oct. 24.