TACOMA, Wash. --
Authorities have identified the woman and child killed in a Tacoma house fire early Tuesday.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office said Michelle Susan McKim, 40, and her son, Shantell Duncan, 2, were killed.
Investigators said a space heater placed too close to drapes or something flammable caused the fire.
McKim's father provided a link to a YouTube video showing the boy on a motorcycle last September:
Firefighters were called to the home on South Puget Puget Sound Avenue near 10th Street around midnight.
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Dubois reported that the fire started in the living room, and smoke filled the home, likely incapacitating the victims.
Firefighters got the flames out quickly and found the two upstairs.
“When they brought the gal out, she was obviously soot-marked, just black soot. It looked grave,” said neighbor Jeremy Wekell.
Fire officials said the victims were both alive when they were transported to local hospitals, but died early Tuesday morning.
The victims’ family dog, Kyryptonite, somehow escaped the fire.
The only evidence of a fire was a burned piece of furniture, a melted fan and windows caked with soot.
"That's the thing," neighbor Ashley Hampton said. "It looks like the house hasn't even been touched."
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