May 1—A Seattle Fire Investigator determined a house fire in West Seattle was accidental. The cause of the fire was determined to be improperly disposed of smoking materials. The first 911 call came in at 5:19 p.m. to a home located in the 8400 block of 20th Avenue SW.

Engine Company 11 arrived to find flames shooting from the front living room window, the basement window and the kitchen window. Heavy black smoke filled the home. Both occupants escaped the single-story house by the time firefighters arrived on scene.

A woman in her 80’s and a man in his 50’s were inside the home when the fire started. The man suffered minor burns to his hands and minor smoke inhalation while trying to put out the fire. AMR transported the patient to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition. Medics checked out the female but determined she did not need medical treatment.

Firefighters battled heavy flames and smoke while working to extinguish the fire. After nearly half an hour of battling the heavy smoke and flames, firefighters took a defensive position. All firefighters were ordered out of the home and off the roof for their own safety while crews fought the fire from outside the burning structure.

Firefighters had a difficult time getting to the seat of the fire due to a basement door being blocked and a large amount of combustible materials piled up inside the bottom floor of the home. It took crews nearly an hour to get the stubborn fire under control.

A round-the-clock fire watch was initiated with firefighters remaining on scene to make sure no hot spots flare up in the burned home.

No firefighters were injured.

A fire investigator estimates damage at $150,000to the structure and $100,000 to the contents.

The American Red Cross was called out to provide temporary shelter for the two occupants.