A five-month-old baby died in a vehicle fire in the Tumwater area on Tuesday, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
Two other children who were in the vehicle when it caught fire, a 12-year-old and a 2-year-old, were safely evacuated.
The surviving children were transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation and treatment.
The children’s father and several neighbors who attempted to extinguish the fire and rescue the infant were also transported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The fire reportedly broke out at approximately 12:10 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21, in the 200 block of 93rd Avenue Southeast in the Tumwater area.
A father and his three children were reportedly preparing to leave their residence, with the father briefly going inside the home and leaving the three children inside the running vehicle.
A short time later, smoke began filling the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.
The 12-year-old was reportedly able to remove the 2-year-old from the vehicle before running inside to alert their father to the fire.
“When they returned outside, the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Deputies and fire personnel were then dispatched to a report of the vehicle fire. The caller informed dispatchers that the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames and that the infant was still inside the vehicle in their car seat.
“Despite the efforts of the children’s father, nearby residents, and emergency personnel, the infant died in the fire,” the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release. “Our thoughts are with the family, loved ones, and all those affected by this tragic loss.”
