OCTOBER 24, 2016
BELLEVUE, Wash. - Firefighters pulled four people from a burning condo building in Downtown Bellevue Monday night.
According to Bellevue Police, the fire broke just before 8:00 p.m. Monday night and quickly engulfed the 20-unit building on 100th Avenue Northeast, just one block south of Bellevue Square.
Bellevue Fire said two patients were taken to a nearby hospital in cardiac arrest. Two others were treated for smoke inhalation and burns.
"Within the first ten minutes it went down, black smoke, came back up again and it's been going as strong for about 45 minutes," said Andi Koller, who saw the condo go up in flames.
Officials said at one point more than two dozen firefighters surrounded the blaze. Some fought the fire from the outside, while others pushed through the smoke and flames to rescue those still trapped inside.
About 50 people were able to make it out of the building safely.
"The victims are accounted for, they're being treated," said Lt. Ryan Armstrong with the Bellevue Fire Department. "We will be here, working with the Red Cross assisting their needs and again conducting a thorough search we will be here with fire investigators looking for the cause and origin of this fire."
No word yet on what may have caused the fire. Crews are expected to remain at the scene throughout the night to monitor hot spots and watch for flareups.