REDMOND, Wash. - A mother could only watch in agony as her four young children and their father were killed by an apartment fire that broke out early Saturday morning, said witnesses.
Neighbor Jared Wilson said the 30-year-old woman was able to escape the two-bedroom ground-floor apartment and stood outside as heavy smoke and flames engulfed her home.
A couple identifying themselves as close family friends told KING-5 the children were all boys, the youngest 3 years old, the oldest about 10 to12 years old. The friends said the family had moved to Redmond from Colorado about a year and a half ago to get a "fresh start," they said, after their family business had gone under.
Wilson said he tried to help, but could not get close.
"She couldn't speak -- she was just hysterically screaming," said Wilson, who lives on the building's third floor.
"I'll never forget the mother screaming," said witness Chris Champoux. "At that point everyone was gone, and lost, and she was the only one."
"You've got to understand," said Champoux, who lived in the unit across from the one that caught fire. "We were inside and could feel the heat inside our apartment, the intense heat coming off that building. It melted all the ice snow off every vehicle."
The mother was taken to Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, where police said she was in stable condition.
"You could tell she'd been in a lot of heat and smoke. Her face was black from the soot and singed and she was trying to pull the IV's and oxygen off and they were trying to hold her. It was sad to see," said Mark Wilson.
Apartment resident Jason Diaz said he was heading to bed after attending a New Year's Eve event when he heard a woman scream.
"I heard someone screaming and a boom and then another scream again and hearing like crunchy, like fire," he said
Neighbor Steve Longmire said he also ran to help, but couldn't get close because of the heat. In a video he later recorded as the flames continued to burn the apartment, you can hear him crying while saying, "Oh my God... It became too engulfed to go in and rescue the kids."
Longmire shared the video, he said, hoping it can "compel families to create emergency plans," he said.
The two-alarm response included firefighters from Bellevue, Eastside Fire, Kirkland, Redmond, and Woodinville.
Lt. Tim Gately said the fire was reported at about 2:30 a.m. He said when firefighters arrived they found flames visible from all four stories of the apartment building.
Gately said firefighters had some difficulties fighting the fire.
"There are steep hills leading into the apartment complex and obviously once Fire starts adding water it runs downhill and can create some slippery conditions," he said.
Gately said there are no sprinklers in the building, but it appears that smoke detectors were present.
No other injuries were reported. Residents of 12 apartments had to evacuate. They were either put up in hotels for the night or staying with relatives and friends.
Redmond Fire Investigators are conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire. Redmond Police Detectives, the ATF, the WSP Crime Laboratory, and a Seattle Police accelerant detection canine unit are assisting with the investigation. A Redmond Police spokesman said outside agencies were merely offering their services, and that their involvement does not imply a malicious cause. Rather, they said at this point, they have not found anything they consider "suspicious," said Matt Peringer.
Investigators wrapped up for the day around 5pm, placing police to safeguard the scene overnight. They said they expected to be back inside the building in the morning.
To add a comment, please register or login.