Breaking: Darcy Burner's House Burns, 5 Year Old Saves Family
By Nicole Belle Monday Jun 30, 2008 3:00pm
The Seattle Times: (h/t miss kitty)
Eighth Congressional District candidate Darcy Burner's Eastside home went up in flames today.
The fire started between 7 and 7:30 a.m. on the 3600 block of West Ames Lake Drive Northeast near Redmond, fire authorities said.
The cause of the blaze remains unknown.[..]
Her 5-year-old son, Henry, came into her and her husband's bedroom around 7 a.m. screaming there was a fire in his room, Burner said.
"I scooped him up and got him out of the house," she said. Everyone, including the family's golden retriever Bruce Wayne, made it out uninjured, but their cat did not survive.[..]
Burner said she hadn't yet considered whether the fire would impact her campaign.
"I am today focused on my family and just really grateful that my family is OK," she said. "Tomorrow I'll wake up and figure out what comes next."
Goldy has more...
UPDATED: If you'd like to help, www.helpdarcy.com has been launched: (from email)
People can leave comments of support (we'll collect a large sample and put them on a physical message board which we will give to the family) upload photos of the family to replace the recorded memories that burned, use the actblue link to make a contribution, etc. Eventually we'll also post a list of things the family needs when Darcy gets that to us. We'll also add more tools and features as needed.
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Poor kitty :( Poor family :(
everyone, including the family’s golden retriever Bruce Wayne, made it out uninjured, but their cat did not survive.[..]
Umm...since when do cats not count if dogs DO? Geez...what writing.
Burner's name came up at FDL last November. When it looked like Darcy was set to beat the Republican incumbent Dave Reichert, she was opposed in the primary by another Republican, Rodney Tom, who suddenly realized that he was really a Democrat. These guys'll stop at nothing. If the electorate indicates that they will never elect a Republican, dress one up as a Democrat and run him anyway. No wonder there are so many DINOs in Congress when the R's use tactics like that. They will stop at nothing to have there way with America.
Not that this incident could have anything to do with Republican desperation. Could it?
...have THEIR way with America. Sheesh!
Screw politics I'm glad everyone's ok.
Poor kitty... glad everyone else was safe.
Love the dog's name, Bruce Wayne, was the cat's name CatWoman?
The kitty?
Nooooooooooo!!!!!!
message sent, what do you want to bet?
today is a crazy day in seattle. armed robery and shootout downtown, now this. and yesterday there was an arson in burien that killed three. wtf is going on here? it must be the heat. yes, it does get hot here
The sad thing is I wouldn't be surprised to find out it was arson.
samdog, I logged in to make the exact same comment you did.
Glad MOST of the family is OK.
She really needs to change her last name. :/
Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about the cat, and am glad everybody else made it out. Hopefully, they determine the cause.
The Burners?
Unfortunate last name.
Glad they're OK.
Smoke alarm. Cheaper and more reliable than your toddler...
I smell a republican rat. This is the work of a neocon.
Babson @ 14:
Smoke alarms were going off as he left his room.
Sad to hear of the loss of the family cat. But very glad to hear that Darcy and the rest of her family are OK. If this is a case of intimidation I certainly hope the perputrators are caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law!
It's a horrible loss, but I'm glad they're okay.
I hope she decides to continue on....
Sympathies to her loss.
The fire started in the child's room? What in a child's room would burn? Frightening. Sick.
I am glad the folks and dog made it out and sorry about the kitty. I hope this turns out to be some sort of accident or faulty wiring and not something criminal. I hate to think it would be some political nut job that did this to this family.
What's crazy is that most of us wouldn't be shocked if we found out this was some right wing work. These are the kind of things they do to hold on to power.
Diana @ 20:
Electrical problems.
miss_kitty @ 23:
Or a kid playing with matches. Arson seems a bit far-fetched.
Cal @ 5:
Except for the poor cat. Unexpected and destructive fires like this are about the most terrifying thing in the world for anybody who has experienced one. They can't help but change the lives of anyone who has been touched by a situation like this.
A politically-motivated arson fire though? I just don't think so, unless it was set by an errant crazy.
Five year old screaming there was a fire in his room.
Ah yes, that wonderful age when kids start playing with flammables that somebody leaves laying around.
According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that fire was extremely hot and well underway by the time the five-year old ran to his parent's room. I suspect that either the little boy was playing with matches or this is a arson. Her son is unfortunately the typical age for playing with matches and it started in his room. I really hope it is not because what a horrible lesson - the loss of the family cat and everything they own. I can just hear the right-wing Reichart fans going on about Darcy failing to properly teach her son, etcetera and so on.
If it is arson, then I would strongly suspect a right-wing hit job.
Nonetheless, she is my father's district and he voted for her last election and plans on voting for her again. I am confident that Darcy will pull herself and her family together and that they will be the stronger for it.
XL @ 27:
I hope for this!
Barrayaran @ 24:
Once upon a time, a lot of Rethuglican nasty tricks seemed far-fetched.
:( Poor kitty.
I'm glad everyone else is alright.
XL @ 27:
Preliminary thinking is it was an electrical fire, not arson, and not Darcy's son Henry playing with matches.
The cause of the blaze remains unknown.[..]
The cat was playing with matches.
Seems like a better name for Bruce Wayne would've been Ace.
any minute we should have the right-wing nut jobs explaining how this is a warning from god for her liberial politics and hedonistic lifestyle...
sad for the cat
happy for the dog
realllllllllllly happy the family got out
The congressional candidate, Darcy Burner, who exposed AIPAC for telling her to distance herself from J Street... The next morning her house burned down.
Contribute to her campaign??? https://secure.darcyburner.com/page/contribute/
Orangutan. @ 33:
but AIPAC is the best organization in the world how could you even think they would threaten anyone let alone use intimidating tactics?
"On Friday, I was on the phone with Darcy Burner, who told me that she got a call from people affiliated with the conservative Jewish political group AIPAC. They told her to distance herself from the new pro-peace group J Street, which they said is full of radical leftists who believe in capitulation..."
This article hit the news cycle on June 30th. The next morning her house is burnt down. I'm not saying there's a causal effect here, but it is something worth noting in any investigation of the matter. Peace.
http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=6641
Be on the lookout for a Republican with a gas can and some matches. He'll have a cro-magnon appearance, and will be utterly convinced his criminality is justified by his ideology.
Barrayaran @ 24:
And why do you feel the need to automatically assume it was the kid? The house was old-ish. I called it; on the news tonight it was said that it was AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
Jesus fucking Christ. Get a grip everyone, would ya?
Contribute!
Remember Senator Wellstone...
Mafia/BushCorp plays for keeps...
Donate, yes, but do the basics. Put decent-sized fire extinguishers handy, in several places in your home.
There are smoke alarms that can be keyed to each other, so if one goes off on one floor, the other alarms go off also. I got 'em.
BTW, to the "kids and matches" commenter: With-it parents, of which Darcy and her husband likely fit the category, do NOT leave matches around the house with toddlers in the house. Period.
Chances are this fire was a simple accident caused by electrical wiring and, unless you are in a brand new fortress style house (not all new homes are well built), electrical fires spread real fast. This could happen to anyone. A good reminder to do a home safety check. Also, in honor of all people who have lost pets, please make a contribution to your local animal shelter.
I expected to see someone immediately jump to conspiracy theories about GOP arson, but - Jesus! - the level of paranoia demonstrated here seems to border on the just plain wacky. Did they use copies of the Warren Commission Report and the secret files that show 9/11 was an "inside job" as well? I mean, as long as were engaging in conspiracy theories here, let's at least make it interesting!
Sorry, couldn't help myself. In all seriousness, I'm so glad that Darcy and the rest of the Burner family are unharmed. What a terrifying experience.
Agree, a little less forcefully, with Mizz Kitty that speculation on arson or kids playing with matches is counter-productive and irrelevant. Sh*t happens, people.
But quite sad that the cat died. I loved my own late moggie so much I know I'd have risked my life in a burning building to try and save him. Cats unfortunately have a tendency to hide when things go pear-shaped, which doesn't increase their survival chances in a fire - or that of someone as stupid as me running back inside to find him, so I'm happy the Burners had better sense. However, I rather suspect they aren't too happy about the loss either, despite the dog's good fortune (not to mention the humans' as well). Screw stuff and bricks and mortar, that can all be replaced. But pets aren't merely possessions; they're our friends as well as our moral responsibility.
My condolences on their loss. Honest.
it could of been the child playing with matches , it could of been faulty wiring , there was more that was lost than the cat . In regards to an Aipac hit , no the timing is wrong , I do want to believe that ! .
Best wishes for you and yours , from a neighbor 40 miles north of you .
Keep the faith, Darcy, and keep your powder dry... all the best.
Barrayaran @ 24:
Playing with matches at 7 am? God, you're a moron!
George W. Gump @ 29:
Just ask the Wellstones ...
Not having read all the comments, I would lean towards the 5 year old accidentally starting the fire.
When I was around the same age I was messing around with matches. I made some cut out paper Star Trek figures and set one of them on fire, but fortunately put the fire out before it spread to anything else, and my parents were none the wiser for it.
Happy to say to it looks like it was faulty electrical wiring from a lamp in her son's room. I am relieved that it was not boy's doing. What a horrible thing to happen and thank goodness that he woke up in time to warn his parents. I am donating and hope others will do. I, like David N. live nearby - I am maybe 20 some miles to the west of her in the 7th District and my father lives about 15 miles to the south of her in the 8th. My family believes that she is best candidate to represent the 8th District and hope that she will defeat Reichart come November.
Wow, AIPAC is evil, evil, evil.
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