Grandmother of 7 in her 80s dies in Lynnwood house fire

A grandmother of seven in her 80s died in a Lynnwood fire that destroyed a house Sunday, South County Fire reported.

In a thread published on X, South County Fire reported its firefighters responded just after noon Sunday to a report of a fire at the two-story home in the Lynnwood’s Alderidge community. When the firefighters arrived on the scene minutes after the report, they found the home nearly engulfed in flames.

The department went on to explain that accessing the inside of the home was challenging, “due to (the) collapse of several areas on the first floor and other areas in danger of collapse.” From there, it took about 20 minutes for firefighters put out the blaze. Inside the home, firefighters found a woman in her 80s who had died.

“And so, firefighters used a ladder to access the second floor,” South County Fire Communications Director Christie Veley told KIRO 7. “There were other areas of the home that were also in danger of collapsing. So, it was a challenging situation for them to be able to get in and do a search.”

Firefighters evaluated a man in his 90s at the scene of the fire for possible smoke inhalation, South County Fire reported. The department also stated a volunteer was also evaluated for a possible medical issue.

The Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire, the department added in its public statement.

The woman’s son told KIRO 7 that his 91-year-old father was outside on the deck when the fire broke out. His mother, however, was trapped inside and could not escape the flames.

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Tragedy impacted many in the area

This tragedy has affected a lot of people. The woman who died in the fire had a large extended family, many racing to the scene to find their family home destroyed and the family matriarch dead, KIRO 7 explained.

Many in Lynnwood’s Alderidge neighborhood said they had never seen such a sight.

“Looked west, and there was just a lot of smoke,” neighbor Gregg Kobb said.

Kobb was in his backyard when he first noticed smoke. Then he came to the front yard.

“(I) looked up the street,” Kobb said. “And I saw a house in flames coming from the garage, from the top of the house, a lot of smoke.”

Working fire detectors not found in the home

Veley said to KIRO 7 firefighters didn’t hear a working fire detector. She explained the detectors are especially valuable in newer homes, with their wide open rooms filled with plastics.

“Your couch might have plastics in it,” said Veley told KIRO 7. “Polyester has petroleum in it. There’s all kinds of things that fill our houses nowadays that are very flammable and cause fires to spread.”

South County Fire didn’t confirm in its public statement about a lack of working smoke alarms in the home. But the department encouraged home owners and community members to check the smoke alarms in their home.

The agency also reminded residents that replaceable batteries in smoke alarms should be changed once each year and all smoke alarms should be replaced after 10 years.

Contributing: KIRO 7

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.