SPOKANE, Wash. – Days after a family of four was killed in a house fire, victim Arielle Desislets’ father is shedding light on what happened the night his daughter, son-in-law, and their two young kids went to sleep and never woke up.
“They all went to heaven as a family,” Laurence Lund, Desislets’ father, said.
As he flipped through the pages of a photo album from his daughter’s wedding day, that miraculously survived the flames that led to her death, Laurence Lund spoke lovingly of his family that died over a week ago.
“Always remember your words to your children, they might be the last, make sure they’re good words,” he said.
Lund said his last words were this: “I love you, see you Saturday.”
On the Saturday in question, very early in the morning April 20, the Spokane Fire Department (SFD) said an electrical cord sparked in the garage and led to smoke, then flames that quickly spread to the front porch and into the upstairs.
According to SFD, the cord was improperly installed years ago, and Lund said it was long before the family moved in. Yet, SFD said when you move into a home you must have a licensed electrician inspect the property, to hopefully avoid tragedy like this.
“We had nothing to do with it, it had been painted over, we didn’t know anything about it,” Lund said. “Or of course, me being in maintenance, I would have taken it down.”
Yet, on the day of the fire, Arielle Desislets, her husband Robert, called Chip by family, and their kids, Christopher, 7, and Aiden, 2, were upstairs sleeping as the fire grew.
“They were having furnace problems, so they were all cuddled up in the same bed and they all died at the same time as a family, and they died in their sleep at peace,” Lund said.
Lund said the four were killed by carbon monoxide, a poisonous, flammable gas; You can’t smell it, you can’t taste it, you can’t even see it, but it can kill you.
SFD said a carbon monoxide alarm (which none were found inside the home) would not have saved the family because it is not designed to alert you of a fire; however, SFD said a working smoke alarm would have saved the victims. Yet, investigators did not find any of those in the home, either.
On top of that, fire investigators said there was no door to the bedroom the family was sleeping in; SFD wants this to hit home, always sleep with your door closed because it will buy you a lot of time if there’s a fire, keeping smoke and heat at bay longer.
Lund’s family did not have that time. His message to the community:
“Go home, love and kiss your kids, you never know,” he said.
A memorial service will be held for the family June 1 at St. John’s Cathedral at 11 a.m. Lund said it will be open to the public.
