House fire at 26th/Jackson, everyone evacuated-UPDATE: Family was trick-or-treating

A two-story house caught fire Wednesday evening near 26th Ave S and S Jackson St. Firefighters were able to put the fire out in 15 minutes, according to SFD.

Everyone in the house was evacuated safely. Investigators are heading to the scene.

The fire was on the second floor of the house and went into the attic.

UPDATE: Seattle Fire says the fire was likely started accidentally. The family of six who lived on the second floor were out trick-or-treating when the blaze began. A cat and two dogs are still missing.

More details from SFD:

Seattle Fire Investigators determined a fire inside a Central District duplex was accidental. After combing over evidence for several hours, investigators determined the fire was electrical, caused by an overturned lamp onto a mattress located on the second floor.

The first 911 call came in at 7:52 p.m. reporting smoke in the intersection of Jackson and 26th Avenue South. Neighbors directed firefighters to a home in the 400 block of 26th Avenue South.

Central District Engine Company 6 arrived first to find the second floor of the duplex fully involved. A wheelchair-bound downstairs resident and a relative were unaware of the flames burning a few feet above them. Firefighters evacuated the occupants and carried the man in the wheelchair down a set of stairs to safety.
The family of six who lived on the second floor was not home at the time of the fire. They were out trick-or-treating.

Next crews attacked the flames in the second floor. The fire extended up into the attic space. Exposure hose lines were laid to protect the next door neighbor homes.

It took crews 25 minutes to completely extinguish the flames.

While searching the 2nd floor for survivors, firefighters saved a cat named Lolita who was hiding in the bathroom. Several hours later, 2 more kittens were found hiding in the debris of the kitchen. All three cats were reunited with their owners. A third kitten and two dogs are still missing.

One firefighter suffered a minor injury while assisting with the evacuation of the wheelchair resident.

The Red Cross assisted 3 adults and four children with shelter.

The damage estimate is $150,000 to the structure and $50,000 to the contents.

Firefighters will be keeping an overnight fire watch to make sure the flames do not re-ignite.

11 thoughts on “House fire at 26th/Jackson, everyone evacuated-UPDATE: Family was trick-or-treating

  1. Is this the house that is maintained by a local church as a residence for those on probation or parole?

  2. I’d like to gather up clothing (adult and kids), food, cat/dog food, and any other items for this family during this hard time. Does anyone know how one would get the items to the family? It says they are currently at a Red Cross shelter.

  3. I’m the nextdoor neighbor directly next to them, I can help you contact the family to get them donations. They really need help, they lost everything. They do have the cat and two kittens, they don’t need dog food. They have four kids, two girls and two boys, I think the girls are about 6 and 9, the boys maybe 10 and 12, but I might be off on the ages. Email me at rachellauritzen at hotmail .com

  4. Is there a description of the two dogs and the kitten? We live close and will look out for them if they are still missing…

  5. The two dogs were killed in the fire. The 3rd kitten has not been found. (The dad said that the missing kitten was white, but would probably be discolored from the fire and soot.)

  6. To the family: I am so sorry for your loss. The fire seemed to spread so fast. I live across the street and down a little bit and can’t even begin to comprehend what you guys are going through. I’ll contact rachel to pass along what I can do to help.

  7. I have set up an email address to help field offers of help and delegate jobs on behalf of the residents of 423 26th Ave.

    Would you like to help, but you don’t know how? Send an email to HalloweenFireHelp(at)gmail.com. We’ll figure it out together!

    A PayPal link for the Murray family (upstairs residents, family of 6) will be posted soon. If you have any food/supplies to donate, they can be left with the residents of 425.

  8. Hi Rachel!

    I set up an email address for people who want to help the folks at 423. HalloweenFireHelp(at)gmail.com. And I met with Raquel and Mark earlier to talk to them about donations. Let’s coordinate on this so that we can help get as much to them! (I’m Tricia’s roommate at 425.)

    Catie

  9. Also, neighbors on the other side of 423 can help you get donations/supplies/etc to the residents affected by the fire!

  10. We are blessed to have survived this tragedy, and thankful for all you helping us with this horrible fire. We are coming along, and looking for a house.