Two bodies found in fire-damaged SeaTac apartment building

Fire investigators discovered two bodies this morning while searching for the cause of a Saturday night blaze at the Emerald Place Apartments in SeaTac, said King County sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart.

The fire was so hot that even once it was out it was too dangerous for investigators to enter the scorched building until this morning, Urquhart said. Firefighters used boards to shore up some of the damaged floors and anticipated the need for more shoring up of the building before it was safe for investigators to enter some units.

The search for the fire's cause and origin "ground to a halt when the bodies were found," Urquhart said. Fire investigators retreated from the scene as sheriff's officials waited for a search warrant to be issued.

"It could be a crime scene for all we know, so we back out and get a search warrant to cover all our bases," Urquhart said from the parking lot of the Silver Dollar Casino, which faces the rear of the apartment complex just east of International Boulevard. "Nothing's been ruled out but there's no obvious indication it was anything other than an accident."

Still, "it was a surprise" to find the two victims because "the first reports we had were that nobody was missing and everybody was accounted for," Urquhart said. "But as the holiday weekend went on, we did receive a report that someone hadn't been seen since the fire."

He couldn't immediately provide details about who filed the report or say whether one or two people had been reported missing.

Two women suffered life-threatening injuries after leaping off their balconies to escape the flames that broke out at 6:55 p.m. Saturday at the 48-unit complex in the 3000 block of South 192nd Street, a spokesman for King County Fire District 20 said. Seven other people were hospitalized for minor injuries and about 100 people were displaced from their homes.

Sprinklers were not required in the building because of its age, but residents reported that smoke alarms were working.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com.