A barista and mother of two died just days after suffering injuries in an explosion and subsequent fire at a "bikini barista" espresso stand in Everett, Harborview Medical Center officials said Monday.
Officials with the Everett Fire Department said a propane tank in the coffee shop, on Everett Mall Way and Fourth Avenue, likely led to the explosion and fire which left barista Courtney Campbell critically injured Jan. 7. Authorities said she either climbed out of a window or got blown out.
Witnesses told KIRO 7 News they heard explosions leading up to and during the fire. The investigation into the fire's cause continued Monday.
"After reviewing security video, we believe a propane tank stored inside the coffee stand contributed to the fire,” Everett Assistant Fire Marshal Eric Hicks said. Investigators believe the fire or the tires of the car or aerosol cans popping in the heat may have caused the sounds of explosions.
The owner of the Shell gas station next to the stand said his cameras likely caught the beginning of the fire on camera, but he could not view the video on Thursday evening because of power issues caused by the blaze.
“It was decimated,” Campbell's best friend Ben Scott said. "Courtney is one of those people who basically walked out of a cartoon and into real life. She's got that bubbly, amazing personality.”
He said the mother of two young girls had been working for years in order to work for herself.
"That's been a dream of hers, pretty much her entire life, to have her own coffee stand, so that was a huge deal," Scott said.
The stand was nearly hers when it burned down.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help raise money for Campbell's daughters.
A benefit is being held Saturday for Campbell and Greg Gibson, a local music promoter who died in a fire in Shoreline last week.
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