The owner of Tile Lines, a retail showroom in Kent, was found dead inside the business after a two-alarm fire broke out early Friday morning, Aug. 23 in the building.
Firefighters were dispatched at about 3:45 a.m. to Tile Lines, 1531 Central Ave. S., according to a Aug. 26 email from Puget Sound Fire spokesperson Pat Pawlak. Firefighters located a deceased male inside the building.
“I am sorry to say that we have had a tragedy at our showroom,” according to a Aug. 23 post by Lori Bixler on the Tile Lines Facebook page. “We had a fire which decimated the store that cost the life of our owner. We ask for some respectful time for us to grieve and process. If you have orders, we will try our best to attend to those in due time.”
Darrell Helbling opened Tile Lines in 2008 and relocated to a larger showroom in south Kent in 2013, according to the store’s website. The business offers tile and countertops for kitchens and bathrooms. According to Linkedin.com, Helbling has owned the business for 16 years.
Helbling, 63, died of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, according to the Tuesday, Aug. 27 report by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which ruled the manner of death as suicide.
Fifteen fire department units responded, bringing approximately 40 fire department personnel to the scene, Pawlak said. Firefighters from Valley Regional Fire Authority and South King Fire & Rescue assisted Puget Sound Fire. King County Medic One, Kent Police and the Zone 3 Fire Cadets also responded.
“Firefighters extinguished the fire in approximately 90 minutes and continued to extinguish hotspots for the next 60 minutes,” Pawlak said. “Firefighters were on scene of this fire until approximately 6 p.m. (Friday, Aug. 23), while the investigation was occurring.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by Puget Sound Fire and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Pawlak said.
“Since the call came in as “sounds of an explosion,” the ATF is able to bring in additional resources for the investigation,” Pawlak said.
Helbling remembered
A couple of customers posted on Tile Line’s Facebook page about how much they enjoyed working with Helbling.
“Lori, I am so deeply saddened to hear about Darrell and the store,” one woman said. “I owe all of my DIY (do it yourself) tiling success to Darrell, who very patiently and very thoroughly taught me how to cut and install my tile this year. You and Darrell were always so kind and patient with me, even as my children played “slow and careful hide and seek” in your store as I shopped. On Thursday morning you had just called me the to check with me on my flooring order I needed to place. My thoughts and prayers are with you and the entire Tile Lines family.”
Another woman wrote:
“When we heard the news, Art and I were truly saddened,” she said. “Darrell was so helpful and kind and always interested in our projects. We ran into him at Costco awhile back, and he just chatted up a storm with us. And I was going to drop in and discuss a small project this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you and Darrell’s family.”
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