OVERNIGHT UPDATE: Address change to 3612 2nd Avenue NW from original reported address of 200 block of NW 39th Street.

November 7—A two-alarm fire in Fremont has taken the life of a man in his 80’s and seriously injured a second man.

This is still an active fire investigation with the case being classified as an undetermined fire. The damage estimate is $200,000 to the structure, and $50,000 to the contents.

The man in his 80’s died this morning at Harborview Medical Center with burns to 95% of his body. The second burn patient, a man in his 40’s has 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his hands, is still housed in the HMC burn unit. This man told investigators he was a resident of the building and he pulled his neighbor out of the building while his neighbor was on fire.

At 10:40 p.m. a 911 call came into firefighter/dispatchers at the Fire Alarm Center reporting flames coming from a 3-story apartment building located in the 3600 block of 2nd Avenue NW. When firefighters arrived, both burn patients were outside of the structure. The second floor of the complex was fully-involved with flames shooting from the third floor. The fire was threatening two other apartment complexes so the Incident Commander called for a 2nd alarm to bring in additional firefighters to protect the surrounding structures.

At the height of the fire approximately 90 firefighters were on-scene battling the blaze. Both neighboring apartment buildings were evacuated. Due to the firefighter’s quick actions, both nearby buildings were saved. Residents were allowed to reoccupy the buildings shortly after 1 a.m.

The Red Cross was called in to assist with one displaced tenant.

The Seattle Police Department Arson Bomb Squad is actively assisting in the investigation.

The King County Medical Examiner’s will be determining the cause of death and will also release the identity of the burn victim.