LYNNWOOD — Two children killed over the weekend in a Lynnwood fire were siblings from Shoreline.
A girl, 15, and a boy, 7, were visiting family when the devastating blaze broke out around 2:40 p.m. Sunday in a two-story unit of the Lynnwood Townhouse Apartments, 6707 196th St. SW, said South County Fire spokeswoman Leslie Hynes.
Another boy, 11, escaped the flames but suffered smoke inhalation. He was treated at Swedish Edmonds hospital and released Sunday. His mother, as well as a man who is related to the two siblings, escaped the burning home too.
The adults were uninjured.
The Shoreline siblings were unable to flee. They were pronounced dead Sunday afternoon. Their names had not been made public as of Monday afternoon.
According to initial reports, the adults were in the townhouse with the children when the fire started, Hynes said. The exact cause was under investigation Monday afternoon. A team of about 10 investigators — from South County Fire, the Lynnwood Police Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — sifted through evidence in the gutted home.
It’s not uncommon for federal investigators to assist in a fatal fire, to offer their experience and extra sets of trained eyes, Hynes said.
As of Monday, fire investigators were unable to confirm the fire’s point of origin, or whether the home had working smoke alarms.
“The destruction in there is pretty heavy,” Hynes said.
Two adjacent units took smoke and water damage.
The team planned to wrap up their initial work at the scene by Monday evening, but did not expect to announce the suspected cause.
The building has seven townhouses, and about 15 people were displaced, Hynes said. The Red Cross and a local volunteer group, Support 7, were helping those residents with their immediate needs.
More than 45 firefighters from South County and neighboring fire districts responded to the incident. One of them suffered a minor, undisclosed injury. He was released from Swedish Edmonds on Sunday.
No estimate of the monetary damage was available Monday.
Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.
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