Monroe officials blame chicks’ heat lamp for house fire
Published 10:19 pm Tuesday, March 30, 2010
MONROE — An indoor heat lamp used for warming young chickens was blamed for sparking a house fire early Tuesday that sent two people to the hospital.
A man, 31, suffered smoke injuries and a woman, 59, hurt her arm and hip when she jumped from a second-story window to escape the blaze, Monroe city spokeswoman Debbie Willis said.
The fire was reported just after 5 a.m. in the 22300 block of 116th Street SE, Willis said.
Investigators believe that the fire started in the living room, where the family was keeping a box of chicks.
The young birds and a pet dog died in the blaze. Another dog made it out safely, but the family’s cat was missing.
Initial damage estimates are about $300,000, including a 1996 Subaru Legacy station wagon parked in the home’s garage, Willis said.
Flames were leaping from the home when crews arrived.
It appears a smoke alarm woke the two people in the house, the woman and her grown son, Willis said. The son was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and the mother was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.
Information on their conditions wasn’t available but they were expected to survive, officials said.
Snohomish County Fire District 3 crews battled the blaze with help from surrounding fire districts. No firefighters were injured.
The Snohomish County chapter of the Red Cross provided aid to the family.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.
