Newporter Apartment Fire Displaces Ten Families Overnight

Ten Bellevue families had to find somewhere else to stay overnight Tuesday after a fire that erupted onto the roof of the Newporter Apartment building in the Newport Hills neighborhood, according to the Bellevue Fire Department.

Eight of the families are likely be able to re-enter their homes by Wednesday afternoon, said Bellevue Fire Department spokesman Lt. Troy Donlin. The King County Red Cross assisted four people with housing overnight and two people with food and clothing, he said.

The blaze at the three-story, three-building Newporter Apartment complex at 5900 119th Ave. S.E. erupted just before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night, sending dozens of people into the street as they were evacuated while firefighters battled the blaze.

The fire departments of Bellevue, Mercer Island and Kirkland and Eastside Fire and Rescue responded to the two-alarm fire, Donlin said.

The cause and origin of the fire still is undetermined, he said.

Two of the top floor units and the roof were damaged by fire, he said. Four other units had significant water damage, two units were unoccupied, he said. The apartments of the other four families affected had suspected water damage, and were being checked by inspectors today to ensure that there is no water damage within the walls or electrical systems.

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