Families Divvy Up Donations Made In Memory Of Dead Firefighters

Family members of four firefighters killed in the Mary Pang arson fire will soon begin receiving money donated by community members, but the distribution comes with some hard feelings.

The Seattle firefighters union has nearly $600,000 to distribute to the families, both from its own fundraising drive and from one conducted by KIRO broadcasting. Checks will be mailed in the next week, union President Jon Gillis said.

Retired state Supreme Court Justice Robert Utter served as an arbitrator, and decided to give onefourth to the survivors of each firefighter. His decision applied to more than $414,000 raised by the union; the KIRO fund recently decided to follow the same formula.

The firefighters died Jan. 5 when the Mary Pang Food Products warehouse went up in flames.

Each firefighter’s family was allowed to submit letters and make an hour of arguments to Utter, and those records reveal some dissension, The Seattle Times reported.

Some family members, for example, objected to the survivors of firefighter Randall Terlicker receiving any benefits, because Terlicker wasn’t married and didn’t have any children. Utter gave Terlicker’s share of the money to his parents, except for $10,000 going to Terlicker’s girlfriend.

The three widows also have filed an appeal with the state Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, seeking payment from the Crime Victim Compensation fund for counseling costs.