September 22— An off-duty Seattle Firefighter helped control a North Seattle rooftop deck fire before firefighters arrived on scene. At 11:15 Thursday night, multiple 911 callers reported large flames coming from the four-story condo complex located in the 115 hundred block of 15th Avenue NE. Seattle Firefighter Daniel Hess who lived in the building was asleep when the fire alarm sounded.

The firefighter ran to his car and grabbed his firefighting gear. Hess checked the apartments below the fire and realized the flames were centered on the rooftop deck. He tried using a garden hose which didn’t pump out enough water so he grabbed the building’s one-inch standpipe hose and began dousing the 20 foot high flames. Engine 16 and Engine 39 arrived minutes later with hose lines which helped extinguish the blaze.

The residents of the 24 unit, 4-story complex evacuated with the help of Seattle Police Officers who broke glass and pulled the building’s fire alarm. Those officers went door-to-door to evacuate residents.

Due to the firefighter’s quick actions, the damage was limited to the rooftop deck. Fire Investigators determined the accidental fire was caused by discarded smoking materials. Investigators estimate the damage at 50 thousand dollars to the structure and 10 thousand dollars to the contents.