No one hurt in house, retirement center fires in Mukilteo

Published 9:10 pm Saturday, February 20, 2010

MUKILTEO — No one was hurt here Friday night in a house fire and another fire at a retirement center.

The first call at 11:16 p.m. summoned crews to a house in the 4800 block of 73 Place SW, said Mukilteo Fire Department Assistant Chief Brian McMahan. Flames rising from the home were seen a half-mile away.

A smoke alarm alerted sleeping homeowners to the fire, he said. They escaped safely.

The blaze burned through the roof and spread throughout the attic of the two-story home, McMahan said.

A custodian at the nearby Mukilteo Elementary School reported the fire.

Fire investigators determined the blaze started accidentally from the barbecue held on the deck earlier that night. Damage was estimated at about $450,000.

The fire could have turned tragic without the smoke alarm, McMahan said. “In a fire, it takes just moments to be overcome with toxic smoke and gasses,” he said. “Smoke detectors give the earliest warning from a fire.”

He encouraged people to install and maintain smoke alarms on every floor and in all bedrooms.

Just four minutes after the first call here, another fire was reported at the Harbour Pointe Retirement and Assisted Living Center a few miles away, McMahan said.

A small fire started in the kitchen storage area and spread up the wall. A fire sprinkler controlled the flames, and firefighters extinguished the fire quickly. Nobody Fwas hurt.

The fire, which caused about $5,000 damage, was ruled an accident, McMahan said.