BURIEN — A three-alarm fire swept through a Burien apartment complex early Sunday, killing three people and injuring six others.
One building was destroyed in the 12:45 a.m. blaze and the second was 75 percent damaged, King County Fire District 20 spokesman Dave Nelson said. The fire left about 50 people homeless.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
The six people who were injured were treated at hospitals, including a girl who jumped from her window. The other injuries include burns and smoke inhalation.
The Seattle chapter of the American Red Cross was assisting the homeless people.
“The streets were just filled with people running and screaming … and the apartment was in flames,” said Lisa Johnson, a resident who escaped the flames with her granddaughter.
Nelson said the first fire crews found the two-story apartment building on fire with smoke pouring from the its front.
Nearby resident Kenneth Mason said he helped rescue a baby. He said he saw five people, including the baby, trapped behind a jammed-shut glass door in the burning building.
“I said, ‘Get out! Get! There’s a fire! There’s a fire,’” he said. But then he saw the five people were trapped.
“My friend Sam grabbed a big old brick and went and busted the glass door,” Mason said. “And they threw the baby out — and then the fire really got bad.”
A damage estimate was not available.
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