A Silverdale woman climbed out her third-story bedroom window early Wednesday morning to escape a fire inside her apartment.

Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue (CKFR) crews responded in minutes to the second-alarm blaze around 5:30 a.m. at The Wellington Apartments on NW Kensington Lane in Silverdale. The Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office said an electric fan above a washer and dryer malfunctioned and began to smolder. It eventually fell from the wall into a pile of laundry and ignited the blaze, according to CKFR spokeswoman Theresa MacLennan.

The woman awoke when a smoke alarm went off. She jumped out of bed and her closed bedroom door was hot to the touch, MacLennan said. The woman also saw smoke and flames in the hallway, so she threw pillows out her bedroom window and climbed out.

MacLennan said the woman’s downstairs neighbors heard the woman screaming and pulled the 12-unit building’s fire alarm, alerting the fire department and causing the residents to evacuate. The neighbors attempted to pull the woman into their second-story apartment window when CKFR arrived and set up ladders to rescue the woman.

MacLennan said smoke and flames were visible from the third-floor unit when fire crews arrived. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in 13 minutes.

Two families were displaced by the early morning fire, including the family who resided in apartment of origin and a neighboring unit. The American Red Cross was on scene to help the displaced families.

The woman was transported to Harrison Medical Center and later released. MacLennan said the apartment complex residents were allowed to enter the building around 8 a.m.