LYNNWOOD — Two children died in a townhouse fire Sunday afternoon.
The two-alarm fire happened around 2:40 p.m. in the 6700 block of 196th Street SW. Before South Snohomish County Fire responders arrived, they had reports of flames visible and coming out the windows on both floors, and could see a plume of black smoke.
There were also reports of people possibly still inside, South Snohomish County Fire spokesperson Leslie Hynes said, which prompted firefighters to try dousing the flames quickly to search for anyone.
“Unfortunately, they did locate two juveniles who died in the fire,” Hynes said.
Their ages were unknown.
An 11-year-old boy, who was in the apartment when it caught fire, escaped and was taken to Swedish Edmonds hospital for smoke exposure treatment. A man and a woman also were in the unit and escaped.
The apartment was near the center of a seven-unit building, and adjacent units had smoke and water damage, which displaced about 15 residents.
A firefighter had a minor injury. At the height of the response, 45 firefighters from Mukilteo, Snohomish County Fire District 7 and South Snohomish Fire were at the scene, Hynes said.
The fire was being investigated and the cause was not likely to be determined Sunday night. Extent of the damage to nearby units was not known immediately.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner will determine cause and manner of death and identify the victims.
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