An elderly woman is in critical condition following a two-alarm residential fire that tore through a home in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood early Wednesday morning.
Seattle Fire Department crews responded to the blaze just after 1 a.m. at a home located on Sunnyside Avenue North near North 38th Street. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered downed power lines on the north side of the property and heavy flames engulfing the front of the house.
Fire officials say a Puget Sound Energy team was dispatched to safely cut off electricity and gas to the home. Firefighters entered the structure and located the woman lying on the floor only a few feet from the back door. She was quickly removed from the house and transported to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
Crews described the interior conditions as extremely challenging, noting a significant amount of furniture and debris inside the residence, which made navigation and rescue efforts more difficult.
As flames began shooting through the roof, firefighters became concerned about the structural integrity of the home and initiated a tactical withdrawal. A second alarm was called to bring in additional resources, allowing crews to battle the fire from a safer perimeter while protecting nearby homes from catching fire.
At the height of the response, nearly 100 firefighters were on the scene. Shortly before 2 a.m., both the chimney and a portion of the roof collapsed.
In a post on the Seattle Fire Department’s official blog, officials noted that aerial drone footage provided by KOMO 4 News helped responders identify where to concentrate water on the fire. The blaze was officially brought under control by 2:04 a.m.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
