Family comes back from firework show to find condo ablaze; mother and daughter killed

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash. - A fire ripped through a condo in Mountlake Terrace Monday night, taking the life of an elderly mom and her adult daughter. 

Family members tell FOX 13 that they spent time with the women earlier in the evening, and when they returned from watching a fireworks display, the home was in flames.   

They say the two women had mobility issues and may have been asleep or watching TV when the fire broke out. They say the women were dearly loved and will be missed. 

"The impact of losing them is absolutely immense," said family member Jonathan Boulet.

Boutlet says his grandmother-in-law, Audrey, and his auntie-in-law, Terry O'Hara, were the two women that lost their lives in the tragic fire Monday.  

"We are all devastated, and it hasn’t even been 24 hours since it happened, so it’s still fresh," said Boulet.  

He said that the whole family spent time together that afternoon and evening at the condo. Around 9:45 p.m., he and his wife and mother-in-law, Pam O'Hara, walked down to a local park to watch the city fireworks.   

Pam is the daughter of victim Audrey O'Hara and sister to victim Terry O'Hara. 

"It was 15 minutes or so we were gone," said Boulet.  

Neighbors started noticing the flames just after 10 p.m. Cindy Grubb said she'd gone outside her condo to try to get a look at the city's fireworks display from the condo parking lot, but trees blocked her view.  When she turned around, she saw flames coming from the condo.   

"We are all still just trying to get into reality. I mean, just realizing the extent of it all, and I don’t think it’s even fully hit us completely," said Grubb. 

Grubb says it's a tight-knit community.   

"It all of a sudden hits you again, and then you start crying and then you take a deep breath and you carry on. You just feel so bad for your neighbors, your friends who are feeling or dealing with worse than what we are," said Grubb.

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Boulet says when the family was walking back to the condo after watching the fireworks display, they saw the firetrucks and first responders lining the street near the condo and knew something was horribly wrong.  

So far, it's unclear what started the fire. Officials say fireworks have not been ruled out.    

"It’s always a possibility, but there is no way to say whether fireworks were involved," said Shawnerie Guzman, the fire Community outreach manager. 

Jonathan says the family didn't light fireworks that day, and he didn't hear neighbors lighting them off either. He feels the city display was too far away to have caused the fire. 

Until the investigation is complete, there are few answers. 

"Just the well-wishes and prayers from everybody, we appreciate it," said Boulet. 

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the women's funeral expenses and to help Pam, who lost everything that night. 

"I just really appreciate our neighbors that have come out and help support us, praying with us and just love from the community while we are dealing with this tragedy," said Boulet.