Lea Hill, WA – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire before firefighters arrive; No injuries reported

Valley Regional Fire Authority personnel responded to a small fire in one unit of the Cedar Ridge apartments on Lea Hill Wednesday afternoon to discover the building’s sprinkler system had already done their work for them.

According to a VRFA statement, no members of the family that lived in the unit were hurt, and fire spared the other five apartments in the 3-story building at 30819 124th Avenue SE.

According to the VRFA, a neighbor called in the fire at 3:56 p.m., and the VRFA’s first engine was on scene within three minutes, by which time the two adults and eight kids who lived in the apartment were already outside.

Smoke damage has rendered the apartment inhabitable, so fire personnel called the American Red Cross to help the family with temporary housing.

According to the VRFA, as of Thursday afternoon, investigators had yet to determine the cause of the fire.