3 young sisters die in Pierce County fire

GRAHAM, Pierce County — They had no chance, the three sisters, who were visiting their dad for the weekend and died in an overnight house fire.

The flames shot 20 to 30 feet into the air, in minutes turning the wood-frame home into cinders, the asphalt shingles melting and literally drooping on what little remained of the roof.

And when flames prevented their father from reaching his daughters on the second floor, he ran outside and threw a ladder up against the house. But he could not save them.

Killed were Katelyn, 13; Emily, 11; and Michela Ballard, 10. Their father, Leonard Ballard, 39, and stepmother, Sabrina Ballard, 31, survived.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but fire officials do not consider it suspicious. Gary Franz, deputy chief of Graham Fire and Rescue, said 11 engines from area fire departments responded to the blaze, which was reported early Sunday, just after midnight, and took an hour to get under control.

Franz said that in his memory it was the worst tragedy in a decade in this small town, where homes are scattered in various developments that share a view of Mount Rainier looming just to the southeast.

A neighbor two doors down from the Ballard home on the 253rd block of 103rd Avenue East said he was awakened at midnight by a woman ringing his doorbell and pounding on the door. It was Sabrina Ballard.

"My house is on fire! You need to call 911!" Ballard told Ray Nesheim, a carpenter, who handed his cellphone to his girlfriend, Sarah Hagen, so she could call for help. He ran out toward the fire.

The flames, he said, "looked like a tornado above the home; it looked like a whirlwind."

Nesheim said he could hear Leonard Ballard inside the home, yelling. He couldn't make out what.

"It was desperation," Nesheim said.

Franz said Leonard Ballard had tried to make his way up to the second floor of the house — the sisters were sleeping in two bedrooms upstairs, while he and his wife slept downstairs.

"He was pushed back by the heat and the flames," said Franz. He said that Ballard then found a ladder and tried to climb into the house.

By that time, 10 minutes had elapsed since the 911 call, and firefighters had arrived. Ballard's face was singed, but he was all right.

Nesheim went back to his home; red embers were flying in the air, landing on his house and vehicles. He woke up his stepdaughter, Savanah, 8, and daughter, Madison, 1-½.

He hugged them.

Leonard and Sabrina Ballard, and the girls' mother, Judith Ballard, of Spanaway, declined to speak to the news media Sunday.

Rick Bulman, head chaplain for the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, spent much of the day with Judith Ballard, whom he had informed of the news in person Sunday morning.

"Ours is a ministry of presence," said Bulman. "What words can you say to a mother who has lost three kids? There are no words."

The Bethel School District plans to have grief counselors at the girls' schools today; Katelyn attended Bethel Junior High, and Emily and Michela went to Pioneer Valley Elementary.

The kids from down the block, with a mixture of curiosity and fear, couldn't help but stop by in the daylight Sunday as investigators worked.

Grace Goeken, 9, and a friend brought flowers that they placed by a rock just outside the home, which is now cordoned off by yellow plastic tape.

"We want to help out the family so they know people care," said Grace.

A 14-year-old boy, Zack Turk, and a buddy, Clayton Freel, 12, kept coming by.

Zack said that at midnight, as the fire raged, he could hear the water rain down from the fire hoses, and he closed the windows to his bedroom.

"It freaked me out," he said.

He was there at 2:45 Sunday afternoon when the body of the last of the sisters was brought out.

Zack watched and then turned and held his mom tightly.

Seattle Times news researcher Gene Balk contributed to this story.

Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com