People jump from second-story window to escape Lake Stevens apartment fire

LAKE STEVENS, Wash. — People were seen jumping from second-story windows of a Lake Stevens apartment building to escape a fire on Wednesday.

Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue said flames broke out around 1:45 a.m. in the 1600 block of 127th Avenue Northeast.

SRFR, SCFD4, Marysville Fire, Everett Fire, Granite Falls Fire, and Getchell Fire were all dispatched.

SRFR said eight units were affected. Crews were on their way when they were told people were jumping out of windows to escape.

The Lake Stevens Police Department helped those people before fire crews got there. Once there, SRFR helped the two people who jumped with their minor injuries.

Crews then started attacking the fire. As firefighters went to the back of the building, they found one person hanging out of a window with smoke billowing out of it.

Crews pulled a ladder to the window and were able to get the person out.

“Smoke and fire were pouring heavily out of most of the windows,” said SRFR.

As crews were searching the building they found another person in a bedroom that had its door closed. They were able to bring that person out safely with no injuries.

Once all the people were accounted for, Battalion Chief 31 was told there were three cats still inside. Firefighters were able to find the cats hiding under beds and in cabinets. Thankfully, all three cats were found alive and uninjured.

The Red Cross arrived and helped those affected find temporary shelter.

Snohomish County Fire Marshals are investigating the cause of the fire.

“When there is smoke and fire, stay low and go! Working smoke alarms are the best first line of defense to escape a fire safely. Test your smoke alarms regularly to ensure that they are working properly, and replace the units after they have reached 10 years past the manufacturer date,” said SRFR. “Sleeping with bedroom doors closed has proven to increase chances of survival in the event of a fire that you cannot escape. A closed door during a fire delays fire, heat, and smoke from entering the room and blocks air supply from the fire. Open a window and yell for help. Throw a pillow or another item out the window. Fire crews are trained to look for these.”

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