Goldendale father, two children die in house fire

Posted on December 4, 2014

GOLDENDALE, Wash. A Goldendale man and his two children were found dead Wednesday after their home was destroyed in an early morning fire that investigators blame on faulty electrical wiring.

The bodies of Thomas G. Blakely, 34, and his two children, Kyra Julia Blakely, 7, and Thomas Evan Blakely, 5, were found in their home in the 600 block of North Mill Street, according to the Klickitat County Coroners Office.

Kyra was a second-grader at Goldendale Primary School, where her brother attended kindergarten, said Kay Hill, Goldendale School District business manager. She said counselors were asked to work with the students Wednesday.

Flames had fully engulfed the home when the fire was called in about 2:30 a.m., police said.

The fire, which is considered accidental, apparently started in wiring in the basement of the home before burning into the main level of the house, said Glenn Johnson, vice president of Q.Global, a forensic fire investigation company based in Burbank, Wash. Q.Global was called in at the request of the Goldendale Police Department.

Johnson said there were no working smoke detectors in the house.

Fire Chief Noah Halm said the incident was the first fatal fire in a decade. He said the firefighters will go through a critical-incident debriefing, where they will discuss what happened and how they are coping with it.

This report has been updated to correct Fire Chief Noah Halms first name.

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Goldendale father, two children die in house fire