Seattle Fire Department Lt. Sue Stangl said the woman had to jump from the house's roof into the arms of a firefighter and a police officer as the flames advanced. It was a 10-foot drop.

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Firefighters were called to the home on Ninth Avenue Northwest and Northwest 65th Street around 4:15 a.m. Friday.

They arrived at the home minutes later and saw seven people on the roof -- six on the west side of the house and the woman in her 70s on the other side. One person had already escaped.

"When the firefighters described the amount of fire that they had at this house they were really fortunate to see the people were on the roof," Stangl said.

Firefighters used a ladder to reach the group and hurriedly lowered them one by one. Meanwhile, the firefighter and police officer talked the woman to the edge of the roof and persuaded her to jump.

"It went as well as it could have," Stangl said.

A total of eight people escaped the fire, which destroyed the two-story house. Stangl said the residents are related, but she had no further details.

The bright flames attracted attention from the neighborhood on a cold winter night, and the fire continued burning late into the morning.

"I would just like to say, 'Thank you' to the firefighters who kept our house safe and who did a great job getting everybody out safe and sound," said Emily Crandall, who lives in a home just feet from the one that burned.

Firefighters said the home's siding made it a stubborn fire to fight.

"You got vinyl with asbestos with cedar underneath that, and there's flames and fire inside there," said Battalion Chief Rick Verlinda.

All residents of the home were transported to a hospital. Stangl said the elderly woman was in critical condition but was expected to recover.

She said the cause of the fire is not yet known.