A 70 year old woman died in her home yesterday along with 23 dogs in house fire.
There were seven dogs that survived the blaze which began in an enclosed back porch when a space heater ignited magazines. The space heater was to provide some heat for the dogs.
Neighbors of the couple had no idea they had so many dogs on their property. From the front of the home it was very well kept and the lawn freshly mowed, but in the backyard there were junk cars and large piles of trash. When the firefighters went into the house, they discovered a "pack rat
house." Dog feces was 2 feet deep in some of the rooms.
The dead woman was Beatrice M. Andrews, 70. Her husband, Ralph J. Andrews, 76, was reported in critical condition last night at St Joseph Hospital in Tacoma.
Beatrice Andrews was found unconscious on the second floor of the residence in the 1500 block of 12th Avenue Southeast shortly after 8:30 a.m. She was carried out to the front lawn, where attempted resuscitation failed.
Ralph Andrews was found unconscious just inside the front door on the first floor of the burning home.
Medics were able to revive him and he was taken to the Good Samaritan Hospital. He was later transferred to St Joseph Hospital in Tacoma to be placed in a hyperbaric chamber to help him breathe.
The couple had mainly mixed dogs of small breeds and Chihuahuas. The dogs were rarely ever seen outside.
The surviving dogs seem to be recovering at the Sumner-Puyallup Animal Control Shelter. "They are kind of sick from the smoke but are sleeping and real quiet." The dogs were flea-infested but not malnourished. They weren't running a puppy mill, but their animal collecting just got out of hand.
Damage to their home was estimated to be at more than $100,000.
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