A child died in an an early Thursday morning house fire on the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation east of Auburn, while three other children were taken to area hospitals with burns and smoke inhalation.

Tribal officials said the fire broke out at about 5:30 a.m. in a 2-story home in the 15700 block of Southeast 381st Place. A neighbor saw the fire and called 911 at 5:48 a.m. Firefighters from Mountainview Fire and Rescue were the first to arrive 10 minutes later and encountered smoke and flames pouring out of the windows and the roof.

“A woman ran inside to try get to a child, but she could not get inside because of the intense heat,” said Tim Perciful, Public Information Officer with Mountainview Fire and Rescue.

Perciful said there were reports that the children had jumped from a second-story window or were pushed.

“We got the fire down and did a search and tried to find a person who was missing,” Perciful said. “We did find a body about 1 p.m.”

Percival said he could not legally release any information on the sex or age of the person found, but the Auburn Reporter has confirmed that it was a child.

A 4-year-old girl was taken to Harborview Medical Center with burns and smoke inhalation and was listed in serious condition. A 10-year-old girl also was taken to Harborview for burns, and a 17-year-old boy was treated at Auburn Regional Medical Center for smoke inhalation.

A dog died in the fire but a cat survived and was taken to a veterinarian for treatment.

“The first search of the building did not turn up the missing child,” said Kent Fire Captain Kyle Ohashi. “The problem we have is that once we have done the primary search, there is so much sheetrock and roof material that lands on the floor it covers up everything. Once we have checked the building to see if there are viable patients, we can do body recovery. But that type of search is always going to be balanced against the need for investigators to examine evidence.”

King County Fire Marshall’s Office investigators were still sifting through the ruins as of late Thursday afternoon but are ruling the fire accidental. They have estimated the financial loss at $200,000 for the house and $15,000 for contents.

“The building is totally uninhabitable, and will have to be torn down, possibly tomorrow,” Perciful said.

Also responding to the fire were units from the Black Diamond Fire Department and the Valley Regional Fire Authority.