July 5- Seattle Fire Investigators determined a boat storage facility fire was caused by illegal fireworks. 14 boats were damaged or destroyed. The damage estimate is $1.5 million dollars.

At 10:02 p.m. a 911 call came into dispatchers in the Fire Alarm Center reporting a boating burning in a dry dock facility in the 2500 block of N. Northlake Way. Firefighters responding to the scene could see a large column of black smoke pouring from the facility. A witness saw a firework land on top of a boat cover of a 20-foot pleasure craft that was on the 2nd level of a 4-story boat storage rack. Within 7 minutes the fire had spread to 14 boats.

Within one minute of receiving the 911 call, a reserve fire engine stationed at Gasworks Park for the firework show was the first engine company to arrive on the scene. Firefighters laid multiple hose lines and used two 700 gallon-per-minute deck guns on their engines to douse the flames. Within 15 minutes, the fire was under control. It took nearly 50 minutes for firefighters to completely extinguish the flames.

One firefighter suffered a minor injury while battling the blaze. Medics transported the firefighter to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition.

Seattle Police Department detectives are following up the investigation into this case.