Mother and 2 boys make dramatic escape from Puyallup apartment fire

A mother and her two sons escaped from their second-floor apartment in Puyallup Sunday morning after it was damaged by fire, according to Central Pierce Fire & Rescue.

The three were checked out at an area hospital and are doing OK, said Captain Darrin Shaw, spokesman for the fire department.

About 1 a.m. Sunday, fire crews were dispatched to the Cambridge Apartments in the 700 block of Seventh Street Southeast. Fire crews arrived to find smoke and flames.

Meanwhile, the mother woke up coughing because of the smoke, then quickly realized the apartment was on fire. She opened the bedroom door to see flames, then turned around and escaped from a second-floor window.

Fortunately, the mother and her two sons were sleeping in the same room, Shaw said.

The seven-year-old boy was lowered out of the window and dropped, according to Shaw, followed by her year-old son who was wrapped in a sheet, or blanket, and lowered out of the window.

The mother jumped out of the window, he said.

The apartment had a smoke detector, but it did not go off, Shaw said.

He said the fire should remind residents of the following: Check your smoke detector batteries and close all doors in your home before you go to bed. That can help contain a fire and give occupants enough time to escape, he said.

Roy fire

About 11 p.m. Saturday, a home in the south Pierce County town of Roy was damaged by fire, Pierce County Firefighters said via social media Saturday night. That family escaped with the aid of working smoke alarms.

This story was originally published November 18, 2018 at 11:06 AM with the headline "Mother and 2 boys make dramatic escape from Puyallup apartment fire."