August 23 – Seattle Fire Investigators have determined that the fire early this morning in South Park was intentionally set. Seattle Police Arson and Bomb Squad will pursue the investigation now that it has been deemed criminal.

It is the second time this week firefighters responded to the address of 731 S. Sullivan St. to find a boarded up vacant house on fire, threatening to extend to the house next door.  Just before 2:00 am firefighters arrived and made it a priority to ensure the safety of the neighboring house. Due to the instability of the dilapidated house, crews remained outside of the structure and extinguished the fire by aggressively cutting holes in the side of the house to allow access for their water streams. It took about one hour to extinguish the fire.

The previous fire was on Monday, August 20 at 3:41 am. Fire Investigators determined that this fire was caused by improperly discarded smoking materials.

Seattle Fire and the Department of Planning and Development are sensitive to the safety risks a vacant building poses to the neighborhood and firefighters. The two departments have been working closely together over the past months to secure the building from transients.