July 14—Seattle Fire Investigators ruled an early morning fire at a house in South Seattle was accidental. The cause is most likely fireworks on the 2-story back deck.
At 12:49 a.m. dispatchers at the Fire Alarm Center received a 911 call reporting a deck fire that extended into the kitchen of a home located in the 10000 block of 61st Avenue South. When firefighters arrived they found all seven occupants and three dogs safely evacuated the 2-story house. The first on scene crews witnessed flames as high as the trees were shooting out of the back deck, and into the kitchen and attic space.
Firefighters led an aggressive attack and were able to contain the fire to just one room and prevent it from extending through the attic and the rest of the home. It took about 15 minutes to control the fire and just more than half-an-hour to have it completely extinguished.
The Red Cross was called to assist all 8 people who lived there with temporary housing. The displaced residents include 3 adults and 5 kids whose ages range from 4-years-old to 16-years-old.
Fire investigators determined the fire started on the back deck and extended into the house. The damage estimate is $150,000 to the structure and $25,000 to the contents.
There were no reports of injuries.
Firefighters stationed themselves outside the home until 8 a.m. this morning to prevent any hot spots from rekindling at the home.