The first 911 call came in at 6:03 p.m. reporting a BBQ that caught a deck on fire. Engine Company 10 arrived to the 500 block of 1st Avenue South and found smoke and flames coming from a top floor deck of the five-story condo building.

Firefighters connected to the buildings standpipe and ran hose lines into the unit. Flames were contained to the deck and adjacent walls preventing the fire from spreading to nearby units. The unit where the fire occurred also suffered smoke and water damage.
The damage estimate is $25,000 to the unit and $10,000 to the contents.

Medics transported one woman in her 60’s to Harborview Medical Center with 1st degree burns. She was in stable condition.

Medics also transported one firefighter with a minor injury who was hurt while overhauling the deck.

Firefighters are remaining on scene for a Fire Watch to ensure the charred deck does not rekindle.

At 10:47 a.m. the Fire Alarm Center received a 911 call reporting flames coming from a house in the 10500 block of 19th Avenue NE. Engine 31 arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the eaves and front door of a two-story home. Both occupants of the house evacuated before firefighters arrived. The fire began in the first floor of the home and extended into the attic. It took about 25 minutes to knock down the fire.

Firefighters faced the additional challenge of low visibility due to the heavy smoke and combustible materials piled up waist high inside the house.

Medics transported a 91-year-old woman to Harborview Medical Center for minor burns to her arms. An adult male was also transported to Harborview Medical Center as a precaution.

Fire investigators estimate the damage loss at $150,000 to the structure and $50,000 to the contents.

The fire started in the kitchen by unattended food and then extended to the kitchen cabinets and range hood.

The Red Cross was called in to assist two adult males and one dog from the fire unit. A family of three in the apartment above the fire damaged unit also received temporary shelter from the Red Cross.

There were no reported injuries.

June 10—A Seattle Fire Investigator has determined an early morning house fire in the South Beacon Hill neighborhood was intentionally set.

The first 911 call came into the Fire Alarm Center at 3:05 a.m. reporting that people were evacuating the 2-story home in the 3900 block of South Cloverdale Street. Multiple callers reported a working fire at the location. Engine Company 33 arrived to find everyone safely out of the house and flames shooting from the second story. The flames were also threatening a home to the West of the original fire home.

Firefighters took an aggressive attack. An additional Engine Company was requested to assist with fighting the fire on the exposure home. The fire extended up the side of the house into the attic. It took 12 minutes for crews to knock down the fire and 28 minutes to completely extinguish the flames.

The fire investigator determined the fire caused $100,000 in damage to the structure and $40,000 to the contents of the two-story home. The home to the West suffered $2,000 in damage.

The Red Cross was called in to assist two adult males and 2 adult females with temporary shelter.

There were no injuries.

The case has been turned over to the Seattle Police Department Arson Bomb Squad for further investigation.

If anyone has any information on this case they are asked to call the Arson Hotline at 1-800-55-ARSON ( 1-800-552-7766).

At 11:50 p.m., the first 911 call came into dispatchers at the Fire Alarm Center reporting flames and smoke visible from a second floor unit of a complex located in the 800 block of West Nickerson. Fremont’s Engine Company 9 arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the roof of the wood frame four-plex. Firefighters launched an offensive attack. The fire started on a deck and extended into the attic. Crews were able to quickly knock down the flames.

The fire investigator determined that improperly discarded smoking materials in a rooftop deck planter box caused the fire. The damage estimate is $10,000 to the contents and $30,000 to the structure.

There were no injuries.

The first 911 call came into the Fire Alarm Center at 8:05 p.m. reporting smoke from a vacant house located in the 6300 block of 36th Avenue SW. Engine Company 37 arrived to find smoke and flames coming from the basement of the backside of the home.

Initially the firefighters took a defensive position and fought the fire from the outside of the home. Once firefighters removed the plywood from the windows of the boarded up home, they launched an interior attack on the fire.

It took about 15 minutes for fire crews to control the flames and approximately an hour before the flames were completely extinguished.

There were no injuries.

The investigator determined the fire started in the basement and spread to combustible materials stored in the lower level of the house. The damage estimate is $25,000 to the structure and $5,000 to the contents.

May 9- Seattle Firefighters quickly extinguished a fire at a First Hill gas station after a car collided with a fuel pump.

At 9:18 a.m. dispatchers at the Fire Alarm Center received multiple 911 calls reporting flames coming from the fuel pump at a gas station located at the corner of Terry Avenue and James Street.

Capitol Hill’s Engine Company 25 arrived first to find heavy black smoke and about eight foot flames coming from a car that had sheared off a fuel pump from its base. The driver of the car escaped the burning vehicle by exiting through his passenger door. He was uninjured.

A second car, that was parked and fueling, suffered smoke and heat damage. The driver of this vehicle was also uninjured.

After quickly noticing the flames, the clerk at the gas station hit the emergency fuel shut off valve preventing more fuel from igniting. The clerk then sprayed the fire with dry-chemical extinguishers. After arriving, firefighters quickly knocked down the flames.

The Seattle Police Department is investigating the cause of the accident.

May 6- A Seattle Fire Investigator determined a fire onboard a decommissioned NOAA vessel was an accidental fire caused by welding operations.

At 9:22 a.m. dispatchers at the Fire Alarm Center received a 911 call reporting a fire onboard the 200-foot research vessel which was docked at the NOAA Marina located at 7600 Sand Point Way NE.

The original caller reported paints, paint thinners and acids onboard the vessel. The Hazardous Material Team was dispatched to deal with the potential hazard.

Once on scene, firefighters contained the fire to a 15’ x 50’ x 5’ compartment in the aft of the ship. The room is three floors below the main deck. No hazardous materials were located in the compartment.

Firefighters sealed off the storage compartment and pumped CO2 into the chamber to deprive the fire of oxygen and effectively smolder it. It took two-and-a-half hours to completely extinguish the flames.

The Fire Investigator determined the fire burned tarps and other available combustibles inside the ship. Because the ship is set to be scrapped, the damage estimate is just $100.

Photo Courtesy of Fire Buff John Odegard

Photo Courtesy of Fire Buff John Odegard

At 11:31 p.m., the initial 911 call came into a dispatcher at the Fire Alarm Center reporting a fire in an apartment complex located in the 2200 block of Yale Avenue East. The initial units arriving found heavy smoke and flames coming from the back of the three-story apartment complex.

It took about 25 minutes for firefighters to completely extinguish the flames. The fire extended from an open living room area through a window causing damage to the overhang of the building’s roof. The fire also caused significant smoke and heat damage to the remaining rooms on the same floor.
There were no injuries but two cats were found deceased inside the building.
The fire investigator determined that combustible curtains and a couch ignited after coming into contact with the baseboard heater.

The damage estimate is $150,000 to the structure and $150,000 to the contents.

The Red Cross was called to assist 4 adult females and 4 adult males displaced by the fire.

The Seattle Fire Department’s Public Education Unit advises residents that common sense can prevent a heater fire. All heating systems can start fires if not used and maintained properly. Heating your home during the colder months of the year can prove dangerous, if you do not follow a few simple safety precautions.

Check baseboard heaters often to remove objects that have fallen on top of or near the heater. Remember that any time objects like newspapers, furniture or blankets are close to heaters, a fire can start.

http://www.seattle.gov/fire/pubEd/brochures/homeHeatingSafety.pdf

At 2:10 a.m. a 911 call came into a dispatcher at the Fire Alarm Center reporting a fire at the four-story complex located in the 9000 block of 35th Avenue SW. Ladder Company 11 arrived to find heavy smoke inside the complex and flames coming from a bottom level unit. It took 12 minutes to knock down the flames and an hour to completely extinguish the fire inside the first floor unit. Firefighters were able to contain the flames to the one unit.

32 people were displaced when smoke filled the hallways of the complex. A Seattle Public Library staff member opened up a classroom at the Southwest Branch, located across the street from the apartment complex, to temporarily shelter the evacuated residents. A King County Metro Bus was brought in to keep the residents warm.

The apartment resident says a smoke detector alerted her to the fire which allowed her to safely escape. The Red Cross was called to assist the one resident with temporary shelter.

The damage estimate is $47,000.