PIERCE COUNTY - Fire investigators say it was an electric heater that caused a fire in a Pierce County mobile home that left two children dead and two others hospitalized late Sunday night.
Just before midnight, fire crews responded to the report of a well-involved fire in the 16600 block of 78th Street East, south of Sumner.
The motor home was engulfed in flames. It spread quickly, killing 2-year-old Joshua Stokes and 6-year-old Jimmy Stokes while they slept. Medics also took two girls, ages 9 and 12, to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma.
Ed Troyer, Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman, told KOMO 4 News that the main house was being fumigated, so the four children slept in the motor home outside. A fifth child slept in a second trailer nearby and was unhurt.
The childrens' father works an overnight shift delivering newspapers, and thus the kids were at the home alone sleeping when the fire broke out.
A nursing supervisor said one girl was in critical condition with smoke inhalation and burns and was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The other girl remained in stable condition and will likely stay in Tacoma.
