Bellevue Resident Dies After Friday Apartment Fire

BELLEVUE, WA - The person who was injured during a fire in an apartment Friday morning has died, according to fire officials. Fire investigators believe improperly discarded smoking materials sparked the deadly fire.

Firefighters responded to an apartment complex along the 14500 block of Southeast 24th Street Friday morning before 6 a.m. on a report of a fire. The fire was contained to a single bedroom in the apartment, and was initially small. However, fire officials said the smoking materials ignited other items in the room creating a larger fire.

The small fire, which was caused by smoking materials that ignited common household combustible materials, was rapidly extinguished and contained to a single bedroom within the apartment. Although the fire was relatively small, the incident demonstrates how any fire can quickly produce enough smoke and toxic gases to be deadly.

Damage is estimated at $10,000. The victim’s apartment did have working smoke alarms which alerted neighboring residents who called 911.

The King County Medical Examiner had not as of Monday night released the identity of the victim.

Correction: An earlier version of this story identified the victim of the fire as a "man." The gender of the victim has not been released.

Image courtesy Bellevue fire