Capitol Hill apartment fire sends two to the hospital

A fire broke out in a Capitol Hill apartment building Saturday morning, sending two men to Harborview Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The fire started about 9 a.m. in a third-floor apartment on the 300 block of Harvard Avenue East, and smoke was confined to the unit, according to the Seattle Fire Department.

"The sprinklers did a nice job of containing it," said Mike Walsh, deputy chief of the C shift.

Walsh said one man was being treated for serious inhalation, while the other was treated for more minor symptoms. The two are 24 and 29 years old.

Tyson Lacayo, who lives in a third-floor apartment, was making coffee and helping his girlfriend get ready for work when he heard the alarm go off next door. He went into the hallway, smelled smoke coming from under the door and called 911.

"I was yelling, 'Is anyone in there?' I finally heard someone coughing and saying, 'Help me,' " Lacayo said. Another resident, Carey Fegel, kicked the door open.

"The guy was completely naked trying to put out the fire," Lacayo said.

He threw a jacket at the guy and dragged him out, even though the man kept trying to go back into the apartment to get a friend he said was still inside.

Lacayo, standing on the sidewalk barefoot and wearing flannel pajama bottoms after the fire, said it was the first time he had met his neighbor.

The fire department said it dispatched 45 people to the fire, five engines and three trucks.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com