Seattle, Washington – Firefighters were dispatched around 1557 hours yesterday to an apartment fire that would turn into a two-alarm blaze.  The fire located in the three-story structure included businesses on the first floor with two upper residential unoccupied not maintained floors.

Firefighters fought the blaze from a defensive tactic knowing that the upper two floors were unoccupied and not maintained.   Throughout fighting the fire with several Ladder pipes and hose lines over the course of time, Firefighters were concerned with a possible collapse of the upper two floors forcing them to back fire apparatus away from the building.  A collapse zone was created for all of South King Street and fire apparatus was moved back outside of that zone.

Seattle Fire states, “Residents living in two apartment complexes located directly across the alley and west of the fire building were evacuated. King County Metro provided a bus as a warming shelter for the 20 adults and 2 children who were initially evacuated from their homes. The American Red Cross worked with the City of Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management and Seattle Parks to set up an overnight warming shelter at the International District/Chinatown Community Center located at 719 8th Avenue South.”

Around 2023 Hours, Seattle Fire reported the fire under control, however, Firefighters continued to deal with hotspots throughout the night into the morning.

The cause is still under investigation.  The Fire Marshal has yet gained access to the fire building.  There is no estimated cost of damages known at this time.

Thankfully, there were no injuries reported and all Firefighters and Command Staff went safely home.  There are current additional relief firefighters on scene as we write this post.

 

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