Update: House fire in 5600 block 49th SW, 1 hurt; ‘smoking materials’ blamed

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
11:57 PM: A deck fire in the 5600 block of 49th SW has apparently spread into the attic. We are en route.

12:17 AM: Our crew is on scene. The fire is at a two-story home; the deck is on the second floor.

A neighbor tells us flames were visible at one point. The five people who were at home all got out of the house, thanks to a neighbor who saw the smoke and banged on the door to alert everyone; a child is being checked out for what’s described as a small burn, and that’s the only injury we’ve heard of.

12:33 AM: The fire’s out; cause is under investigation, and some units are being dismissed from the scene.

ADDED 8:45 AM: Per SFD on Twitter, “improperly discarded smoking materials” caused the fire, with damage estimated around $35,000.

skittles for marshawn April 11, 2014 (11:59 pm)

So many sirens. Hopeful that everything will be okay.

Bubbleloopus April 12, 2014 (12:02 am)

So many trucks! We can hear them just keep coming and coming! We hope for the best for the people and family in the home. Hopefully nobody has been hurt.

Noe April 12, 2014 (12:10 am)

I’ve seen 6 fire trucks and 5 fire SUVs pass by is there any update on what’s going on?

WSB April 12, 2014 (12:23 am)

Story’s updated. Takes a few minutes to get the incident commander to comment at the scene, etc., sorry for the lag. The response is a standard one for a house fire – send lots of units just in case, then cancel anyone who’s not needed.

alki resident April 12, 2014 (12:07 pm)

A child gets burned due to smoking materials. This makes me angry. Maybe its time to stop smoking.

I. Ponder April 12, 2014 (3:31 pm)

I was wondering if it was a child who was smoking something they’re not supposed to be smoking and that’s why it was improperly discarded smoking materials. A child could be a teen.

WSB April 12, 2014 (3:36 pm)

Have absolutely NO idea who was smoking what and how it caught fire, nor the age of the child who was reported to have been hurt. This is the entirety of what SFD reported and no one will be available for followup before Monday.

joan bateman April 13, 2014 (2:49 pm)

Hi all,

As a neighbor, maybe I can provide some insight into the situation, since I live 3 houses down and across the street and was there.

o Yes it was noisy and the trucks kept coming and coming. Thank goodness for a full response when it is a house fire in our City. The SFD responsiveness and that of our neighbor, a fireman herself, probably saved 5 lives in our community. She was coming home afterwork, saw the glow of the fire, and acted as trained fireman, to get the ‘sleeping family’ out of the house. She is our neighborhood hero!

o I am also puzzled about the notice’ of a smoking device.’ It would be sad to think this was a cigarette that caused this to happen, since the family doesn’t smoke.

o I’ve been advised, you can not assume a ‘smoking device’ is a cigarette. A ‘ smoking device’ is anything that is on fire and smoking.

o my knowledge of how the child was burned was by a parent tossing burning material off the deck, and it inadvertently burned the child.

o I am wondering if this was an after affect of one of the many firecrackers that get set off in our neighbor hood throughout the year. I have found burned firecrackers on top of my roof, as people set them off at Christmas, New Years, Valentine’s Day, and yes 4th of July, and any time they fell the urge.

o And that leads me to think, that with a very dry summer coming up, probably lasting into winter (El Nino), maybe we should make firecrackers illegal in the city, and use this house fire as a warning to all of us, so that further injury is prevented.

Hope this helps and doesn’t confuse things.

It was scary, and a relief to see our neighbors safe, unharmed ( burn was not critical), and many, seemed like everyone, in our block volunteering assistance in anyway.

jpb

WSB April 13, 2014 (3:22 pm)

Thank you, Joan. If the family doesn’t smoke and thinks the account provided by the fire dept. is incorrect, PLEASE make sure they contact SFD. While we can report simply on what we see and hear at a scene – firefighters are doing X, one person hurt and being treated, etc. – there is no way for us (or other media that might report on an incident) to independently verify the cause; SFD reports what its investigator determines, and we report what SFD reports. But if there is a change, we’d certainly add that! Whatever the case, I hope they are doing OK with recovering, figuring out insurance, etc.; I experienced a huge house fire in childhood and remember firsthand how awful that was.
.
Tracy

joan bateman April 13, 2014 (11:55 pm)

Tracy,

My comment was not meant to be critical of the WSB.

As always, You all do a marvelous job in the community.

My input was meant to offer another perspective of what the SPD report could have meant. I understand ‘smoking’ to meant the result of something burning.

Thank you again for all you do to keep our community informed and connected.

jpb

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