Photo by John Odegard SEATTLE — Wednesday afternoon at approximately 1:40 p.m., crews were dispatched to reports of a fire in an apartment complex in the 900 block of NE 63rd St. Crews arrived on scene to find heavy smoke and flames coming from a window of a third-floor unit. The incident was upgraded to a two-alarm response to bring in extra crews as a precautionary measure in case the fire extended to surrounding units.
Firefighters took an offensive approach, entering the structure to put water on the fire. By 3:18 p.m. crews had extinguished the fire and began reducing the response.
The fire was contained to one unit but the main water pipes to the building were damaged, resulting in all 26 units being temporarily displaced. The Red Cross was requested in to assist the residents.
Investigators determined the fire was accidental, and likely caused by fault electrical or overheated battery chargers. No injuries were reported.
Safety Tip: Don’t leave charging batteries or devices unattended because they may overheat and catch fire.
