Apartment fire in Lynnwood puts 9 people out of homes

Published 11:07 pm Friday, February 22, 2008

LYNNWOOD — A child playing with a lighter sparked a two-alarm apartment fire in north Lynnwood on Friday morning that caused more than $100,000 damage and displaced nine people.

Four children and a baby sitter escaped from a burning apartment. Several other people got out of the 12-unit building, Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said.

No one was injured.

Crews were called to the blaze just after 8 a.m. at the Crestview Apartments in the 3500 block of 156th Street SW, she said.

“Several people called 911 to report heavy smoke coming from a third-floor apartment,” Hynes said.

Crews from Lynnwood and Edmonds fire departments along with fire districts 1 and 7 battled to contain the fire to the third floor. It took them about 40 minutes to put it out, Hynes said.

Fire investigators determined the fire likely was caused by a child playing with a lighter inside a bedroom closet, Hynes said.

“We’ve very grateful that everyone got out safely,” she said. “If this had been earlier in the morning or during the night when everyone was still asleep, we might have had a more tragic outcome.”

Two families were displaced by the blaze: a family from the apartment where the fire started and a family of three from the water-damaged apartment below the fire.

The Snohomish County Red Cross provided assistance to both families, Hynes said. Neither had insurance.

The fire serves as a reminder that families should never leave matches or lighters within reach of children, she said.

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.