4 homes gutted by fire in King, Snohomish counties
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Four homes in King and Snohomish counties were gutted by fire early Sunday, keeping firefighters busy in West Seattle, Kent, Edmonds and Martha Lake.
The first blaze erupted just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday at a home on Southeast 267th Place near Kent. Firefighters say it made its way into the attic, and they had to pull down the ceiling to fight it.
Three people inside were able to make it out OK. Investigators say a discarded cigarette butt caused the fire.
About an hour later, around 3:30 a.m., a man who lives in West Seattle was able to escape after fire broke out at his home.
Firefighters were called to his home, in the 5200 block of 45th Avenue Southwest, after receiving 911 calls from neighbors. They were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other nearby homes.
Officials say the man had a fire going in his fireplace when flames jumped out and caught his carpet on fire, which quickly spread through the house. He sustained only a minor burn in the blaze.
At about 4:30 a.m., a fire flared up at an Edmonds home, causing more than $250,000 in damage.
Neighbors called 911 to report the fire at a single-story house in the 1000 block of Ninth Ave. S., and crews quickly responded, said Leslie Hynes of Snohomish County Fire District 1.
No one was inside the house at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. Neighbors told firefighters renters had moved out of the house sometime within the past few weeks, and the homeowners were fixing up the house so they could move in.
Investigators have not yet determined how that fire started. This is the second fire at this house in less than a month. A neighbor and the tenant extinguished that fire before firefighters arrived. Damage was minimal, and investigators were unable to determine how that fire started.
“It’s too early for investigators to say if today’s fire is suspicious or if it is somehow related to the previous fire," Hynes said.
About three hours later, at around 7:25 a.m., flames erupted at an abandoned mobile home in the Martha Lake area east of Lynnwood was destroyed by fire this morning.
No one was inside the home at the time of the fire. Firefighters had the fire out in about 15 minutes. No one was injured.
“Most of the exterior walls were still standing, but the fire gutted the inside of the mobile home and burned through the roof,” Hynes said.
The Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office investigated the fire and determined it was most likely started by transients who were frequently seen by neighbors inside the mobile home.
The first blaze erupted just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday at a home on Southeast 267th Place near Kent. Firefighters say it made its way into the attic, and they had to pull down the ceiling to fight it.
Three people inside were able to make it out OK. Investigators say a discarded cigarette butt caused the fire.
About an hour later, around 3:30 a.m., a man who lives in West Seattle was able to escape after fire broke out at his home.
Firefighters were called to his home, in the 5200 block of 45th Avenue Southwest, after receiving 911 calls from neighbors. They were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other nearby homes.
Officials say the man had a fire going in his fireplace when flames jumped out and caught his carpet on fire, which quickly spread through the house. He sustained only a minor burn in the blaze.
At about 4:30 a.m., a fire flared up at an Edmonds home, causing more than $250,000 in damage.
Neighbors called 911 to report the fire at a single-story house in the 1000 block of Ninth Ave. S., and crews quickly responded, said Leslie Hynes of Snohomish County Fire District 1.
No one was inside the house at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. Neighbors told firefighters renters had moved out of the house sometime within the past few weeks, and the homeowners were fixing up the house so they could move in.
Investigators have not yet determined how that fire started. This is the second fire at this house in less than a month. A neighbor and the tenant extinguished that fire before firefighters arrived. Damage was minimal, and investigators were unable to determine how that fire started.
“It’s too early for investigators to say if today’s fire is suspicious or if it is somehow related to the previous fire," Hynes said.
About three hours later, at around 7:25 a.m., flames erupted at an abandoned mobile home in the Martha Lake area east of Lynnwood was destroyed by fire this morning.
No one was inside the home at the time of the fire. Firefighters had the fire out in about 15 minutes. No one was injured.
“Most of the exterior walls were still standing, but the fire gutted the inside of the mobile home and burned through the roof,” Hynes said.
The Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office investigated the fire and determined it was most likely started by transients who were frequently seen by neighbors inside the mobile home.
"Governor issues emergency burn ban in every county".
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Well, that will put a stop to THIS!
I'm kind of curious why someone would be making a fire in their fireplace? Â Maybe it was more for ambiance and not 'heat'. Â I haven't turned the heat on in my house since July and it never drops below 68 degrees (and that's only at night). Â
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As for the cigarette thing, they reap what they sow. Â I lost count how many people I see tossing lit cigarettes onto the ground, out of moving cars, etc. I see it every day. Â Heck, while riding my motorcycle I've been hit by lit cigarettes tossed out of car windows. Â It seems like all cars these days are lacking a functioning ash tray (or maybe that's lacking functioning drivers).
 @Landshark I built a fire in our wood stove the other night. It's been getting cold at night and a fire for a few hours helps the house warm up a bit...of course, it also made watching the debate a bit more enjoyable. :-)
 @Landshark I disagree with you on the heat issue but agree with what you're saying about cigarette thing.
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You have the luxury of owing a nicely insulated house. We've had to run heaters the last few days as it is awfully cold in the mornings when we get up ...nowhere near 68° but in the low 50s in our old house. And a fire in the fireplace might be nice once the sun goes down in the evening as it starts getting cold inside around 8:00 or 9:00 pm where we are.
 @mandy h That's true, I was basing my experience on my own home.  It's a home built in the early 80's with the original windows (and tile throughout the entire ground floor (keeps the floor nice and cold!), but has still managed to stay no lower than 68 even with the outside temps dropping to the low 40's. Â
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I live in Kent so perhaps I pay more attention to these kinds of stories, but it seems like Kent has a disproportionately high number of house/apartment fires compared to other cities. Is it just me?
 @Bex I was just thinking that. It's was smaller than Seattle but fires seem to hit there more. Maybe the reporters on the police/fire beat are more efficient? LOL
It's just you.