Flames tear through Renton home, killing 1 woman, critically injuring another

An overnight fire that ripped through a Renton home left one woman dead and another woman critically injured.

Renton Regional Fire Authority crews were called to the home in the 12300 block of Southeast 166th Street at 12:53 a.m. Friday.

The house was engulfed in flames when the first firefighters arrived.

A neighbor told us that when he saw the flames from his window, he banged on the burning home’s door and helped the woman who lives there get out. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition, according to Renton Fire.

A friend who was visiting the woman from Texas did not escape and died in the fire.

Fearing the flames could spread, the neighbor also went to the house next door to alert those inside.

Video from the scene showed the home is gutted with its interior burned and part of its roof collapsed.

We spoke with another neighbor who said he was floored when he saw the devastation and wished he could have done something to help.

“It’s terrible. I wish I would’ve been awake to see it start. You know, maybe someone could’ve went over there and helped them out,” said neighbor Daniel Lehmann.

Lehmann lamented that the fire prevented the second woman from being rescued.

“It’s scary. I started talking to my roommate, saying, you know, we need to make sure we got our detectors in there working, and our batteries in there are working. You never know when something like that might happen,

Medic One and crews from Puget Sound Fire also responded.

Fire investigators are at the scene combing through debris.

There has been a GoFundMe set up for the surviving victim here.

0 of 16