Woman helped from burning apartment

A 64-year-old woman was helped out the back of her burning second-story apartment overnight by three other tenants at the Autumn Chase Apartments, 11301 N.E. 7th St., according to a Vancouver Fire Department spokesman.

The woman was screaming when she called 911 at 12:59 a.m. and then her phone went dead.

Three men rushed to her aid, helping the woman start her climb down a railing outside the building and positioning themselves below her in the event she fell.

Working smoke detectors and visible flames demanded the men’s attention, said Capt. Kevin Murray, and led to the woman’s rescue.

“For them to put themselves at risk like that is tremendous,” Murray said.

Firefighters reached the scene at about 1:04 a.m. to find flames burning from two upstairs units, in the treeline and atop bushes. An engine from the Cascade Park station, 213 N.E. 120th Ave., was the first to respond.

“It’s a pretty significant amount of fire that was coming out of these two apartments,” Murray said.” To not have a fatality is pretty fortunate. All the stars lined up there.”

The woman and a 45-year-old man were transported to Southwest Washington Medical Center to be treated for minor cases of smoke inhalation.

One cat died in the fire and another is missing.

The last of the eight engines and two trucks dispatched to the fire left about 4:30 a.m. Investigators sifted through the scene until about 8 a.m. trying to determine what started the blaze that caused $500,000 damage, including the structure and contents.

All tenants at the complex are required to have renter’s insurance, Murray said.