EVERETT — At least one person was killed and several others injured when a three-alarm fire tore through an apartment complex Thursday evening at 2 W. Casino Road.
At least one adult was found dead, said Eric Hicks, the assistant fire marshal for Everett.
In addition, six people were injured, including two children. One person was critically injured. Information on the victims’ ages and other details were not immediately available.
The fire was reported just before 7:15 p.m. It apparently started in a mattress, Hicks said.
The building was consumed by fire, with flames bursting from the windows and through the walkway railings. Flames could still be seen shooting from the eaves as of 9:15 p.m. White and gray smoke was pouring from the building. Crews were using multiple fire trucks with aerial ladders to shoot water down onto the fire. About 90 firefighters converged on the scene, Hicks said.
More than 100 people were displaced. The American Red Cross was on scene to provide assistance, using buses to shelter people while overnight housing was arranged.
Elizabeth Alejo lives in an apartment that faces the building where the fire was located. She heard screams around 7 p.m.
“When we opened the curtains we saw the flames. They were everywhere,” she said.
Flames were shooting from windows on the second and third floors and two cars in the parking lot appeared to be ablaze, Alejo said.
Her children were scared.
Tony Myhre, 43, of Everett, grew up in that apartment complex. His family moved when he was 10, he said.
He and his 17-year-old daughter were driving by on Thursday night on their way to get Chinese food.
“We see all this smoke coming out of the building and said, ‘Oh boy, that’s not right.’ We pulled into the Fred Meyer parking lot.”
As he parked, the fire “was moving toward the east as they started putting down foam,” he said. At times, the flames looked to be shooting 25 feet high over the roof, he said.
“There was one point where you had firefighters going around the second and third floor apartments looking for folks,” he said. Myhre and his daughter saw the fire spread to a car parked nearby and alerted the crews at the scene. They shot video from the scene.
Water from the fire hoses was flowing off the building and into the Fred Meyer parking lot, where it was turning into ice, he said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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