1 dead, 3 injured in Seattle apartment fire

One person died and three others were injured after a vacant apartment building caught on fire in Seattle early Tuesday morning.

SEATTLE - One person died, and three others were injured after a vacant apartment building caught fire in North Seattle early Tuesday morning.

According to the Seattle Fire Department (SFD), crews responded to reports of a fire in a four-story building near the corner of Roosevelt Way NE and NE 63rd St. just before 4 a.m. This area is near Roosevelt High School.

Multiple firetrucks with lights on parked outside of a burning building in Seattle. Smoke is scene coming out of the building and a rescue latter is visible.

Multiple Seattle firetrucks respond to a fire at an abandoned apartment building in North Seattle. (Photo: FOX 13's Taylor Winkel)

When crews arrived at the scene, they found a man who had reportedly escaped the fire, and told firefighters about more people on the fourth floor.

The SFD says crews rescued one person by carrying them out of the fourth-floor window and down a ladder. Two other people were escorted down the main stairway and out of the building.

About 40 minutes later, crews announced that four patients had been rescued from the burning building. A man and a woman suffered minor injuries. A man in his 40s was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Another adult woman was treated at the scene, but crews say she died at the scene.

Firefighters searched the building to confirm no additional victims were inside. By 4:40 a.m., the fire was mostly knocked down as crews worked to extinguish remaining hot spots.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The SFD says another fire happened on May 8, but at the time, the building was occupied.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.