Halogen Lamp Falls On Bed, Starting Apartment Fire

A halogen lamp ignited flames that heavily damaged an apartment building in this Seattle suburb, leaving a resident and a firefighter injured, fire officials said.

More than 50 firefighters and emergency personnel, some from Auburn, Renton and King County, responded to the three-alarm blaze at the Benson Village apartments in the East Hill area.

The fire started shortly before 2:30 p.m. and was under control in a little more than an hour. Six of the 12 units in the building, one of several in the complex, were damaged by the flames.

A 34-year-old firefighter was taken to Valley Medical Center for treatment of second-degree burns to his right shoulder and was later released.

A 28-year-old woman who lived in the building was taken to the same hospital for treatment of a possible right ankle sprain and minor burns on her foot.

The injured woman reported the fire after finding the bed in her first-floor unit in flames, said Fire Department spokesman Mike DeHart. She took her three children to safety, then helped notify others.

Cause of the fire was traced to a halogen lamp that had fallen on the bed, DeHart said. Damage was estimated at $500,000.