Daughter’s body found, father presumed dead in Fox Island fire
Dec 5, 2013, 6:04 AM | Updated: 6:33 pm
The fire was reported at 11:10 p.m. Wednesday. The man's wife and two other children made it out of the home with the help of a neighbor. (Pierce County Detective Ed Troyer via Facebook)
(Pierce County Detective Ed Troyer via Facebook)
Update: The Pierce County sheriff’s office says the body of an 8-year-old girl has been found, and her father presumed dead in a fire that burned their waterfront home on Fox Island.
Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said the man is an emergency room doctor who was a commissioned reserve deputy. He’s been identified as Thomas Babson.
The search for the doctor’s body has been suspended until Friday because of darkness and the instability of the building, the Associated Press reported.
“He was well liked by our guys and went out and volunteered his time to work with our guys and use his skills to make sure our people were safe when they went on high risk calls,” said Troyer.
The fire was reported at 11:10 p.m. Wednesday. The man’s wife and two other children, a 12-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, made it out of the home with the help of a neighbor.
Troyer said the man and the 8-year-old daughter did not make it out of the house.
The fire was burning six hours later. Firefighters from Gig Harbor kept the flames from spreading to nearby houses, their water freezing in the cold.
As a reserve deputy, Troyer said the doctor responded with SWAT teams to provide medical care in emergencies.
Troyer said he knew the deputy, but many of his fellow officers knew him better. “They worked with him on a weekly basis and they’re on the scene now and they’re distraught and we’re trying to work with the family.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
