Seattle – At 4:22 a.m., the Seattle Fire Department’s Fire Alarm Center received 911 calls reporting heavy smoke and flames coming from a vacant three-story apartment building in the 1700 block of Belmont Ave. in the First Hill/Capitol Hill neighborhoods. Engine 25 was the first unit on scene, and crews reported fire climbing up an exterior stairwell on the back of the building. The fire climbed into the void spaces of the building, then extended through the roof. Fire also extended to an occupied adjacent apartment building to the west. Crews worked quickly to knock down this portion of the fire.
As firefighters put water on the vacant building fire, additional crews searched inside and confirmed no occupants were found. Due to concerns of a roof collapse, firefighters exited the vacant building and remained in a defensive position by pouring water on the fire from aerial ladders and from rooftops of adjacent buildings.
Crews are working through the morning to get the fire under control, then fully extinguished. One person was treated on scene for minor injuries and did not require transportation to a hospital. Heavy smoke spread through several blocks and we encourage residents to close their windows and doors to prevent it from entering their homes. The incident is under investigation.
Updated Aug. 19: Investigators ruled the cause of the fire was undetermined.
