Two women badly injured in house fire

UPDATED

A fire that broke out at approximately 3:30 a.m. Wednesday caused serious injuries to two La Conner area women who had to be air-lifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The fire gutted a home on Downey Road, and according to Fire District 13 Chief Roy Horn, the cause may have had something to do with the severe windstorms during the night.

The two women and an 8-year-old boy, the grandson of one of the women, were inside the home when the fire started. The child escaped unhurt.

Authorities say his grandmother received burns over 30 percent of her body and the other woman, her friend, suffered smoke inhalation injuries.

According to the Skagit County Fire Marshall Office, Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputies were first on scene and pulled one of the women out of the home. That woman, who was overcome by the smoke, required CPR on scene.

Both women were at Harborview on Thursday and still in ICU, sources said.

Along with Fire District 13, McLean Road and La Conner fire departments responded.

Chief Horn said the heat generated by the blaze had to be intense, “everything inside is melted,” he said.

Skagit County Sheriff’s deputies Paul Pacini, and Josh Case were first on the scene, according to Sherif’s Chief Chad Clark.

Two Swinomish Police officers also responded quickly.

Chief Clark said that when the deputies arrived on scene they used a child’s Razor Scooter in the front yard to smash open the front windows to let the smoke out of the building.

Then the law enforcement officers made a brave entry into the house to find a woman inside unconscious.

Witnesses said the woman had already been safely outside the house at one point, but ran back inside to save her cat, which did not survive.