Sprinkler stops fire in Martha Lake apartment

Herald staff

MILL CREEK — Burning food on a kitchen stove Friday set off a sprinkler that extinguished the fire before it could spread far in a Martha Lake apartment.

A man and a 5-year-old boy he was baby-sitting were in the apartment when the fire broke out. The man suffered minor burns to his hand, but did not require medical treatment, said Leslie Hynes, Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman.

"There was the potential for injuries and much greater property loss, but the sprinkler stopped the fire before it could spread," she said.

The fire occurred shortly before noon in a second-floor apartment of the three-story Heritage Ridge Apartments in the 16600 block of Larch Way.

Snohomish County Deputy Fire Marshal Gary Bontrager estimated the repair and cleanup costs at about $10,000.