KIRKLAND, Wash. — "I hear fire trucks screaming down the street," he said.
Saxon was inside his house.
"Go to my backyard and I see flames and smoke coming up from the apartment down there," he said, looking over his shoulder.
He started taking photographs.
Kirkland firefighters said the building at 16142 91st Lane Northeast was fully involved in flames when they arrived just before noon on Saturday.
That forced them to fight the fire from the outside before they could venture inside.
"They accessed the building from the side of the building -- the front door -- and made entry into there," said Battalion Chief Kenneth Henderson.
Henderson said everyone inside safely escaped before firefighters arrived.
A resident who wouldn't talk on camera said she smelled smoke then the smoke alarms went off. She ran out of the building and called 9-1-1.
The American Red Cross offered support and temporary shelter to about a dozen residents forced out of their homes.
Hours later, fire investigators were combing through the charred debris to determine a cause.
The fire -- a sobering surprise on this first holiday weekend of the New Year.
"It's not something you see every day," said Daniel Saxon. "I've never witnessed a fire in my life."
KIRO
