FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Melanie Granfors 206-986-4393

June 8, 2002

A one year old girl was in very critical condition this morning

after a two alarm house fire in Shoreline. The fire broke out around

3:30 a.m. in the basement living quarters of the home in the 700 block

of N.203rd Street. Shoreline fire crews arrived to find smoke and

flames billowing from the residence and four family members on the front

lawn. They had escaped, apparently after being alerted by a smoke

detector. The child's father is hospitalized in serious condition. A

six year old boy, and two elderly family members were also treated for

minor injuries.

Additional fire crews from Edmonds and Seattle were called to

assist in fighting the blaze. The fire was extinguished within about 20

minutes.

The father told firefighters he had been unable to get to his

one year old baby, sleeping in a rear basement bedroom. Firefighters

rescued the child and Shoreline medics began resuscitation efforts,

transporting both the father and the baby to Harborview Medical Center.

The father suffered from burns and smoke inhalation, in addition to

lacerations suffered while breaking glass during attempts to rescue his

children. The six year old, and two elderly family members were taken

to Northwest Hospital and treated for minor burns, scrapes and smoke

inhalation.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by Shoreline Fire

and King County investigators. The house was destroyed. No damage

estimate is available at this time.