An adult family home in Shoreline is out of business, and six elderly patients are being relocated after a fire caused by a burning candle. The two alarm blaze broke out at approximately 10:00pm February 20, in the eight bedroom home near 176^th Street and 8^th Lane NE.

Shoreline Fire responded to a 9-1-1 call and arrived to find smoke and flames visible.  Fire crews from Northshore, Bothell and Seattle Fire also responded.

The residents were alerted to the fire by smoke detectors, and all eight evacuated safely. One caregiver made an unsuccessful attempt to control the blaze with a fire extinguisher. He was treated and released at Northwest Hospital for smoke inhalation. Another resident was taken to Harborview with minor burns.

The cause of the fire was determined to be a candle that ignited some combustibles in one of the bedrooms. 

“Working smoke detectors were key in alerting residents early and giving them time to evacuate,”  according to Shoreline Fire Marshal Mark Bunje. The care-givers did a good job getting the residents out safely. Fires like this double in size every 30 seconds, and they only had a few minutes before this fire turned tragic,” he added.

The Fire Marshal’s office is looking into whether the home should have had a sprinkler system.

Damages have been estimated at over $120 thousand dollars. The home will need complete renovation and relicensing before it can resume operation.