Family of 5, including 3 children, killed in rural Thurston County house fire

OLYMPIA, Wash. — An investigation is underway after two adults and their three children were killed in an early morning house fire in a rural area near Olympia, according to Lt. Cameron Simper with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

Just after 6:30 a.m. Saturday, crews with the West Thurston Regional Fire Authority and TCSO deputies responded to the fire at a home in the 8800 block of Sherman Valley Road Southwest in the Capitol State Forest.

Upon arriving at the scene, crews found the home “completely engulfed in flames.”

A juvenile girl who was visiting the home was able to escape before crews arrived at the scene, according to TCSO.

She is in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center as of Monday evening.

Detectives with TCSO will be assisting investigators from West Thurston Fire, Southeast Thurston Fire and ATF as they work to determine the cause of the fire. On Monday, authorities said ATF expects to know the cause of the fire within the next few days.

“We are saddened by this loss of life and the impact that this will have on family members and the community,” said the sheriff’s office in a news release. “We will provide information as it becomes available.”

A GoFundMe has been started by friends of the victims. If you’d like to help, you can donate here.

Another GoFundMe has been started by one of the victims’ family members, which you can donate to here.

Friends of the victims, identified as Steven and Destiny Cox and three of their children, told KIRO 7 they were a loving, caring family.

“The loss is just unimaginable. It’s got to be the worst tragedy in this county in years,” said neighbor Ken Smith. “In terms of the loss of the family. It’s heartbreaking. We don’t even know how to help them at this point.”

“They were definitely some of the best people. Hard to find kind of friendships and family bonds,” a friend of the family told KIRO 7.

As people in the county continue to process the situation, many who knew the victims wished they had more time.

“First of all, I’m sorry for not spending enough time, and I wish we had more time,” one told KIRO 7. “Thank you for everything that you’ve done for me and taking me in when I needed it.”

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