Herald staff
EVERETT — Stuffed animals stacked against a baseboard heater sparked a bedroom fire in the basement of a home in south Everett.
Two girls ages 11 and 13 escaped.
The fire began at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at a home in the 1100 block of 112th Street SW.
A baseboard heater thought to be off switched on, igniting the animals, said Snohomish County deputy fire marshal Bruce Pulver.
The smell of smoke and a smoke detector alerted the younger girl, who was watching television upstairs. She woke her sister, who was sleeping in a bedroom adjoining the one that was burning.
The outcome could have been much worse, Pulver said.
The basement bedroom and had no smoke alarm. It lacked an escape route. An exit door was blocked and windows were taped shut. The fire did $15,000 in damage.
Snohomish County Fire District 1 firefighters doused the blaze.
District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes warned people to keep flammable items away from baseboard heaters, even when they’re off. They switch on when it’s cold.
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