3-alarm fire burns S. Seattle apartment building

Raw Air4 video of fire

SEATTLE -- Firefighters had a tough battle on their hands as a three-alarm blaze burned an apartment building in the Boulevard Park neighborhood Wednesday afternoon.

The fire broke out just before 2 p.m. at the two-story Whisper Wood Apartments in the 11800 block of 26th Avenue South, according to North Highline Fire officials.

Flames spread fast and water was limited.

The fire started on the lower level of a six-unit building and it didn't take long to spread to the roof, forcing firefighters to fight the fire defensively from the outside.

Tenants complained that it took too long for firefighters to put water on their apartment units, but firefighters say the fire was spreading so fast, it took a while to get additional firefighters, plus the building only had two fire hydrants and it slowed them down.

One resident said she lost everything.

"I don't have nothing - not a pair of shoes; not a coat; not anything," said Katherleen Jimerson.

One tenant was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

A firewall helped stop the flames from spreading to neighboring buildings.

There's no word what caused the fire. The Red Cross has been contacted to help the displaced families -- some of whom did not have renters' insurance.