Guard dog rescues sheep from fire

Six rare sheep, irreplaceable guitars and a lifetime of memories were destroyed Thursday in an early-morning barn fire a mile northeast of Carnation. Eleven fire units from Eastside Fire & Rescue, Fall City, Duvall and Redmond responded to the blaze that was first seen about 4:30 a.m. by a motorist driving along Highway 203.

Homeowner Diane Pagel credits their Great Pyrenees guard dog, Kodiak, with saving most of her purebred flock. She had initially thought she had lost as many as 20 sheep.

"Sheep will go to where it is safe, and for them, that was the barn," she said. "But apparently Kodiak got them out. He was the last one out of the barn because hair has been burned on his back legs and back."

Pagel and her husband, Jeff Freeman, were awakened by the fire about 4:35 a.m.

"I heard crackling that sounded just like the saplings breaking in the ice storm we had last year," Freeman said. "Then I heard a boom and the sheep and dogs. When I opened my blurry eyes, I could see the glow and knew the barn was on fire."

The couple raced outside to rescue the sheep and border collies. Pagel raises sheep and trains border collies for sheep-herding competitions.

When firefighters arrived, the barn was engulfed in flames. They were challenged by a narrow access road to the farm and lack of water. The nearest fire hydrant was about a mile away. Three water tenders shuttled water to the site. Part of the barn was filled with highly flammable bales of hay and alfalfa, feed for the sheep and horses.

While extinguishing the blaze, firefighters needed to keep cool a 500-gallon propane tank that stood next to the barn.

"If the tank had caught on fire, it would have acted like a bomb," Freeman said.

He estimates that the barn was about 15 years old. It had been built around a house trailer that he and his two bands use as a rehearsal space and recording studio. Several musicians were in the barn Wednesday evening until 11 p.m., Freeman said. Their work, all original words and music, was destroyed in the fire.

Freeman's four guitars — one a 1957 Telecaster and three custom-made instruments — were destroyed. So were several bicycles, along with ladders, pressure washers and heavy-duty pumps he used in his painting-contractor business.

Pagel's biggest loss was Granny, a 14-year-old ewe who was toothless and required special food.

"She was the Eve of my herd," said Pagel, an aerospace engineer who works for the Federal Aviation Administration.

In addition to the winter's feed supply for the animals, Pagel lost the saddles and tack for her two horses, tools, and several months worth of medicine she had just purchased for the animals Wednesday.

By early Thursday afternoon, Pagel had begun moving sheep to friends' farms. Because it is lambing season, they need some protection from the elements. A neighbor had dropped off a couple bales of hay to help feed the remainder.

The couple, who have lived there for 5 ½ years, also lost a Nissan pickup, Subaru Legacy station wagon and Mazda Navajo in the blaze. The King County fire marshal suspects the fire started from an electrical short. Freeman could not estimate the dollar value of the losses.

"I lost my childhood," Freeman said. "That's where I kept all my personal scrapbooks and pictures. They can't be replaced."

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com