Fatal Moses Lake fire cause undetermined

MOSES LAKE - The cause of a fatal house fire that claimed the lives of two Moses Lake children and their stepfather Sept. 29, was ruled undetermined by the Grant County Sheriff's Office.

The fire on Moon Drive appears to be accidental, said Grant County Deputy Jon Melvin. The blaze started in the living room and gutted the home.

"At this point, we have nothing to lead us to believe it would be an arson or a suspicious fire," Melvin said.

Two possible ignition sources of the fire were a halogen lamp and a baseboard heater. There were plans to send the items to the lab for specialized analysis.

Investigators later learned through an interview with fire survivor Sara Villarreal the lamp wasn't working, Melvin said.

The Columbia Basin Herald was unable to reach Villarreal for comment.

The insurance company for the home decided not to pay for an analysis on the heater, he said.

He said the most likely cause of the blaze was something coming into contact with the heater. A leather couch was near the heater, but cloth from the couch wasn't found on the heater during the initial investigation.

A few cans of paint were stored in a closet in the southeast corner of the home, but they weren't near the heater, he said.

The remains of one smoke detector were also found and investigators don't believe it worked because an alarm wasn't heard by Villarreal, he said.

He encouraged others to make sure their smoke detectors are working, know what type of batteries they require and replace the batteries at appropriate intervals.

Sara Villarreal's husband, Daniel Villarreal, 28, died after returning into the home to save his stepchildren, Dante Beltran, 7, and Natalie Beltran, 5.

Sara Villarreal, 25, and her 1-year-old son, Lukas, survived the fire. She didn't return phone messages left last week to arrange an interview. She thanked community members for their help in a Columbia Basin Herald ad published two weeks ago.

"I was overwhelmed with the generosity and love from the people in this community, a lot of whom I'd never know," she stated.

A two-bedroom duplex was made available to Villarreal by Moses Lake home developer and builder David Plate. She'll be allowed to live there rent-free until she finds another home, he said.

When word spread Plate was remodeling the apartment for the family, he received calls from businesses wanting to donate new carpet, he said.

He was also approached by people at his church wanting to help and received 54 phone calls after placing an ad asking for household items for the family.

"It's phenomenal to me the community response," he said.