Washington Authorities Investigate Fire At Elderly Woman's House

Firefighters are investigating the cause of an early-morning fire on Tuesday that forced an elderly woman to escape through a window and burned her home to the ground. Video: Fire Leaves Only Chimney Standing The resident, an 86-year-old woman, escaped out a first-floor window of the house after she was awakened by smoke. She was taken to Providence Everett Medical Center for evaluation and treatment, firefighters said. Firefighters said they arrived at the home, in the 5800 block of South Second Street in the Lowell neighborhood, at about 2:30 a.m. and saw flames coming through the floor. Video: Woman Escapes Everett Fire They remained outside and protected neighboring houses while the home burned to the ground. "Crews attempted to enter the house through the front door and found the fire had already burned heavily in the basement and had destroyed the floor in the front door area," assistant Fire Marshal Rick Robinson said. "We decided to fight the fire from outside and not attempt to enter the house above the basement fire due to concerns about the floor collapsing and trapping firefighters." The fire is not suspicious, firefighters said. Only the chimney remained standing at 6 a.m., after the fire was under control. Damage to the house and its contents was estimated at more than $400,000, firefighters said.