Fire forces couple from their Tacoma home

TACOMA, Wash. — A couple in Tacoma is looking for a place to stay after an early morning fire tore through their home.

It happened at South Seventh and Washington streets early Thursday morning.

When our crew arrived at the scene, it was evident that most of the damage was at the back of the home. The fire appeared to have started there and spread to the inside.

Diane Jendro lives across the street and was awakened by the sounds of fire crews arriving.

“I know the neighbor over there. (I) heard a spark and then like a boom, and then all of a sudden it was up in flames,” said Jendro.

She was able to get outside and see what was happening.

“In between the houses, smoke was just billowing out for — it started like 10 (minutes) after 5 a.m.,” she said.

The charred back of the house shows where the flames erupted and then invaded the home.

The rear alley was not big enough for fire vehicles, but that was not a concern for Tacoma’s firefighters, according to Darren Brassard of the Tacoma Fire Department.

“The fire extended into the kitchen area on the first floor. We were able to attack the fire, put the fire out…normally, we make all of our fire attacks from the front side, so we were just between the houses,” said Brassard.

He said there was smoke damage throughout the house.

The fire did not spread to neighboring homes.

Jendro said that was a relief to her and others on the street.

“It scared the — out of me, what do you do? You hope and pray that everyone gets out and everybody’s safe,” she said.

No one was hurt, and there’s no exact word on what caused the fire.

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