Teen Credited With Saving Baby From Wenatchee House Fire

A teenaged girl is being credited with saving the life of a baby from a house fire in Wenatchee early this morning (Tuesday, Nov. 21).

Crews with the Wenatchee Valley Fire Department were dispatched to the blaze in the 300 block of South Methow Street at just before 6:30 a.m.

Initially, it had been reported that an infant was trapped inside the home but upon arrival at the scene, firefighters learned that everyone at the residence was safely outside and accounted for.

Fire Chief Brian Brett says the baby's life was likely saved by the fourteen-year-old girl's quick thinking.

"She checked the door and determined it was unsafe to exit into the room where the fire was. So she closed another door and created a barrier to protect both herself and the baby. Then, she either opened or broke a second-story window and handed the baby out to other occupants of the home before extricating out the window herself."

The fire was relegated to an interior room of the home which was adjacent to where the teen and the baby were sleeping.

Brett says his crews had the blaze under control within ten minutes and the likely cause of the fire was an electrical malfunction.

"One of the strongest potential causes we're looking at is an extension cord running across the floor. Whenever you run a cord across the floor it can get stepped on or worn by doors opening and closing on it and that damages the cord. Damaged extension cords can develop series or parallel arcing, and that arcing easily causes sufficient temperatures to ignite combustible materials."

Damage to the home was minimal and there were no injuries.

Nineteen people who were staying at the residence have all been temporarily displaced.

Brett says the two-story home had four smoke detectors that were not working, all of which have now been replaced by the fire department.