Alarms help residents flee apartment fire

DES MOINES, Wash. – A new alarm system rang bells in all 18 units of a building at the SeaFox apartment complex about 3:30 a.m. Monday and helped all 65 residents escape a two-alarm fire, South King County Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Gordie Olson said.

Two men were trapped by flames on third-floor balconies and had to jump, Olson said. Both are OK, he said.

The fire went to two alarms because of flames that spread through the attic and into a couple of units. The roof collapsed on the top six units.

The fire does not appear suspicious but remains under investigation. All the residents, mostly families, have been burned out of their homes.