After residents reported hearing a loud explosion, a two-alarm apartment fire in Federal Way displaced four families Wednesday morning.
The fire affected four condos of a six-unit complex at the Quail Run apartment complex at 32nd Place Southwest, near Decatur High School.
“Two units had significant fire damage, and two units had relatively minor damage to drywall were the firefighters had to open ceilings for access to the attic fire,” said South King Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Gordon Goodsell.
All four of the families were displaced, Goodsell confirmed.
No injuries were reported as all occupants made it out safely, said Lt. Brad Chaney, public information officer for South King Fire and Rescue.
Residents of the apartment complex reported hearing a loud explosion outside near a gas meter just before 5 a.m. on July 3.
“The homeowners went outside and found an exterior wall fire that was traveling up the wall and getting into their attic space,” Chaney said.
The fire spread up the wall to the roof of the first unit, then jumped to the next door unit and spread to the second unit’s attic space.
Firefighters controlled the fire and ventilated the roofing with seven holes to relieve the smoke from inside the units to ensure the fire was fully extinguished.
The large response included crews from South King, Valley Regional, Tacoma and Puget Sound fire departments.
Smoke coming from additional units prompted the two-alarm response to ensure any possible resources that may be needed were ready, Chaney said.
King County fire investigators and Puget Sound Energy are investigating the cause of the fire and assessing the damage.
“… They also come out just to help assist the firefighters, shut off any gas meters and help with any electrical work,” he said of Puget Sound Energy’s response on scene. “Just so that way when we’re checking the attic space, we don’t cause any damage to ourselves by getting shocked and hitting power lines that we’re not aware of.”
Residents of a Quail Run condo unit heard a loud explosion near this gas meter around 5 a.m. which may have been the cause of the two-alarm fire. Olivia Sullivan/staff photo
