Silverdale teen saves family from house fire, father recovering from serious burns

SILVERDALE, Wash. — A Silverdale family narrowly escaped the flames that ravaged their home overnight Tuesday.

Around 12:08 a.m. Tuesday, Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue responded to a residential structure fire on NW Cascade Street in Silverdale.

“It was like smoking in my room and I just smelt like a burning smell, so I went to tell my dad. And then I just saw the whole garage black in smoke,” said 16-year-old Kaleb.

Kaleb told KIRO 7 he was the first to realize a fire had ignited below his bedroom in the garage.

“I heard him screaming ‘get out get out’ so he told me to get the kids and he got one brother and I got the other,” said his mother, Kim Bonsell.

In just minutes, Kaleb managed to escape with his mom and two little brothers.

At that point, Kaleb says his dad was still trapped inside the garage with the flames.

“I looked for something that I could bust the garage open with. Grabbed a shovel and made a hold big enough for him to get out of,” Kaleb explained.

Kaleb rescued him before it was too late. His father got out alive and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center with 32% of his body covered in burns.

The fire continued to burn once they were out. The flames were so intense that it melted the side of home next door.

“It was nuts. The whole side of the house was just completely in flames and I could feel the heat,” said neighbor Sean Stoll.

Nearby residents were evacuated from their homes as a precaution.

“We both came out and we could just see the flames. Like just engulfing over the house,” said neighbor Quentin Howard.

“You could just hear the glass popping and stuff going up. And then that’s when the neighbors, you could see the flames going over the particles over there and that’s when we ran out and that’s when I got the water hose and started spraying the front of their house,” said neighbor Latonya Hoover.

Everything at the Bonsell home was left in ashes.

The family left with just the clothes on their back and years of memories.

“It’s my childhood home. So, I lived there for, well my parents had it for 30 years and we just bought it a couple of years ago so lots of memories.”

The Central Kitsap Fire Department is still investigating the cause.

If you’d like to help the family, click here for the GoFundMe.

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