Family, Friends React To Death Of 61-Year-Old Man In Washington County House Fire

A man and his three dogs are dead after his home burned down Wednesday morning near Dewey, The Washington County Sheriff's Office said.

The victim's family has identified him as 61-year-old Jimmy Harrington.

Jimmy's younger sister Lisa says they lost their dad two weeks ago. She says Jimmy died at 61, which is the same number as their dad's race car. She says she's at peace knowing they are together.

Jimmy's front yard is filled with what his sister calls little treasures, reminders of family.

"There's race cars, classic cars. It's kind of peppered with good memories from my dad and brother," said sister Lisa Harrington.

John Shea has been Jimmy's best friend since they were boys.

"Just devastated. I'd be bawling right now if I wasn't in front of a camera. Jimmy was a person no matter what you needed, he was there for you," Shea said.

Jimmy’s sister says his death is a loss for many people.

“It’s very shocking to our community, our racing community, a lot of friends, a lot of family. It’s tragic, hard loss. A lot of people are going to feel the weight of that," Lisa said.

Shea said he always knew where to find Jimmy, in his yard working on a project.

"Jimmy has done a little bit of everything but he was an excellent motor builder, race car builder and race car driver. He could do whatever you asked him to do on a racecar, and would a lot of time if people wanted help," Shea said.

Jimmy's family says his three dogs, Brutus, Tippy, and Shadow also died in the fire.

"Jimmy loved his animals probably more than he loved people if I can say that. He loved people so much, but his dogs were with him wherever he went if he wasn't on that bike," Shae said.

His family and friends want people to remember his kindness and friendship.

“He was encouraging. He had a good relationship with Jesus and he wasn’t afraid to tell you. And he had a big listening ear. And he always had words of encouragement and he was very wise in the words he chose," said Lisa.

“His smile, Jimmy had this smile that could just light up anyone anywhere, anytime," Shea said.

The State Fire Marshall said investigators believe this is an accidental fire.

They are still determining the cause and will have more information in the next couple of days.