Updated: Occupants of Burning Home Located, Fire Investigation Continues

Noon:

Fire fighters continue to investigate what caused a fire that gutted a two-story home in the Enatai neighborhood, the reported.

The college-age children of the homeowners were located, after initial concerns of there wherabouts when three cars and a luggage were found in the garage, said Bellevue Fire Department spokesman Lt. Troy Donlin. The children told investigators that the parents were in Taiwan.

Fire investigators have not yet been able to enter the home in the 3200 block of 112th Avenue Southeast, where the fire broke out around 1:15 a.m. Sunday morning, he said.

Neighbors saw flames shoot up high over the two-story house, according to witnesses and the fire department. Neighbors also reported hearing explosions, Donlin said.

When engines from Bellevue and Mercer Island arrived, flames were visible on all four sides, and through the upstairs and downstairs windows, Donlin said. The call was reported as an eight engine fire.

The cause and point of origin of the flames are still unknown, he said.

Ten hours after the fire broke out, fire fighters continue to to battle hotspots, he said. The structure remains unstable, with a few walls that could collapse, he said.

The house was on a driveway behind another two story house that faces 112th Avenue Southeast. The heat of the blaze cracked the windows of the front  house, Donlin said.

"The whole sky was orange," said Mason Walters, who lives in his aunt and uncle's house on 113th Avenue Southeast -- just on the other side of the fence from the house that caught fire and another house that shares the driveway. "There were sparks and embers everywhere."

Walters said his family, who were awoken by the fire engines, were concerned that the fire could spread to their home.

"My aunt ran around making sure all the kids were safe and collecting all the photo albums," Walters said.

Walters caught the blaze on video and said he saw the upstairs floor collapse into downstairs.

"We're trying to find out if the neighbors are OK, if there was anyone in the house," he said. He said they didn't know the neighbors very well.

Walters' uncle, Brett Vowels, said the heat could be felt from their house. Fire fighters used his yard to attack the blaze from the back side.

"I have a new respect for the fire department," Vowels said. "No doubt, no doubt."

Original story:

The occupants of a home in the Enatai neighborhood could not be found after the two-structure was competely gutted by flames early Sunday morning, the reported.

Witnesses told the fire department that three cars drove into the garage around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, but no one had been seen leaving and the cars were still inside during the blaze that was reported at 1:15 a.m Sunday, said Bellevue Fire Department spokesman Lt. Troy Donlin.

"We don't know if this is a police investigation, if there's going to be a fatality or not," he said. Fire investigators have not yet been able to enter the home in the 3200 block of 112th Avenue Southeast, he said.

Neighbors believed that the home was occupied by one or two college-age children of the homeowner, who lives in California, Donlin said.

The fire broke out at the home in the 3200 block of 112th Avenue Southeast before 1:15 a.m. Sunday, when neighbors saw flames shoot up high over the two-story house, according to witnesses and the fire department. Neighbors reported hearing explosions, Donlin said.

When engines from Bellevue and Mercer Island arrived, flames were visible on all four sides, and through the upstairs and downstairs windows, Donlin said. The call was reported as an eight engine fire.

Two cars were registered to the homeowner and the third car was not, he said. A piece of luggage was found next to one of the cars, Donlin added.

"We've called the cell phones of people associated with the house, and no one has answered their phone," Donlin said.

The cause and point of origin of the flames are still unknown, he said. It's not known whether anyone was inside the house, because the structure was not safe enough for fire inspectors to enter, he said.

The house was on a driveway behind another two story house that faces 112th Avenue Southeast. The heat of the blaze cracked the windows of that house, Donlin said.

"The whole sky was orange," said Mason Walters, who lives in his aunt and uncle's house on 113th Avenue Southeast -- just on the other side of the fence from the house that caught fire and another house that shares the driveway. "There were sparks and embers everywhere."

Walters said his family, who were awoken by the fire engines, were concerned that the fire could spread to their home.

"My aunt ran around making sure all the kids were safe and collecting all the photo albums," Walters said.

Walters caught the blaze on video and said he saw the upstairs floor collapse into downstairs.

"We're trying to find out if the neighbors are OK, if there was anyone in the house," he said. He said they didn't know the neighbors very well.

Walters' uncle, Brett Vowels, said the heat could be felt from their house. Fire fighters used his yard to attack the blaze from the back side.

"I have a new respect for the fire department," Vowels said. "No doubt, no doubt."