One critically injured in West Seattle house fire

SEATTLE - A fire heavily damaged a West Seattle home early Saturday, leaving one person critically injured.

The cause has been traced to a dried Christmas tree that was next to a fireplace.

Crews were send to the home, on the 4400 block of 44th Avenue SW, around 3:10 a.m. They arrived to find flames shooting out of the roof and a resident of the home outside on the lawn.

The victim, a man, was treated, then taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle as firefighters worked to put out the fire. Seattle Fire spokesperson Sue Stangl said that the man suffered critical injuries.

The fire was put out within an hour, but not before the home suffered heavy damage. The total damage estimate for the home and contents is $160,000.

VIDEO by David Rosen:



Investigators searched the home for a number of hours, trying to determine what triggered the fire. The cause was finally determined to be a dried Christmas tree that was next to a fireplace that caught fire.

No firefighters were hurt while extinguishing the fire.