West Seattle Blog…

Video: Arbor Heights fire briefing @ City Council committee

(UPDATED EDITOR’S NOTE, 12:11 PM: The archived meeting video is now available, so that’s what you’ll see if you click “play” below. We are working on the wrapup story with new information from the hearing and from followup questions afterward.)

10:20 AM: Click “play” to get the live feed from City Hall, as the City Council’s Public Safety and Education Committee is briefed on the August 27th Arbor Heights house fire near 41st/102nd, and what’s been done, and what is still to come, to fix the water-supply problems it exposed –

We have been following this story since the fire itself, including these stories:
*August 27: The fire (accidental; gutted a house and injured a firefighter)
*August 28: Fire’s cause
*August 29: ‘After-action review’ promised
*Sept. 9: Three followups
*Sept. 15: Hydrant upgrades promised
*November 4th: Hydrant upgrades almost complete
*December 5th: City Council committee briefing planned

Last night, we reviewed the documents available online for this briefing, including something new and major: A plan to upgrade water mains. Here’s our story; we will write a new one with added information after today’s briefing, and we will also make a note here when the briefing is over.

11:02 AM: It’s over. Nothing major beyond what we summarized from last night, though some additional summarizing did emerge – when the water-main upgrades are over in a year-plus, all of Arbor Heights will be within 1000 feet of an 8-inch water main, which is the minimum standard these days, and 87 percent will be within 500 feet. The review of the August fire showed that 2,000 feet of hose had to be rolled out to get to an 8-inch water main supply. More to come!

12:12 PM: The archived video is already available – so we have substituted it above. Followup story still in the works.

Water-main improvements proposed for Arbor Heights, post-fire

As we reported previously, the City Council‘s Public Safety and Education Committee is scheduled to be briefed tomorrow on the big Arbor Heights fire from last August 27th.

(WSB video from 8/27/2011)
House fires don’t usually lead to council briefings, but in this case, multiple fire hydrants near the home were unable to adequately supply firefighters, who as a result could not get a handle on it quickly. Three documents are linked from the City Council agenda tonight, looking ahead to the briefing by Seattle Fire and Public Utilities leaders. While the first two focus on the fire response and what went wrong (as well as what went right), the third lays out a schedule for proposed water-main improvements to be built next year.

The tale of what went wrong at the fire scene is complex, going beyond the water-supply problems, though they are described in detail. The hydrants nearest the home were described as “dead” and “frozen” in the first document: “A sufficient water source had still not been located 12 minutes after the first unit arrived on scene.” And then: “32 minutes into the response, despite efforts to supply them from three different directions, E32 still didn’t have a viable water supply.” It wasn’t just the hydrants – they called for the “hose wagon,” but it turned out to be unavailable; they looked for the “hydrant main map book,” but discovered it was “no longer carried on the Chiefs’ apparatus.” Finally, after laying hose all the way to 35th SW – almost half a mile of hose, says the document – “35 minutes after the first rig arrived on scene, a positive water supply was established.” Ultimately, says the second document, “105 firefighters, officers and medics” were involved in the response.

The third document outlines the water-main-improvement plan; as we have reported in followups since August, in some cases SPU was able to put larger hydrants atop water mains that could provide better pressure with better equipment, but in some cases, the water mains themselves are too small – and have been since before the city annexed the area more than half a century ago. Per the briefing document, the process for the water-main improvements will begin with a community meeting next month. We will find out more when the council committee is briefed toward the end of its 9:30 am meeting tomorrow (if you can’t go, you can watch via the Seattle Channel, cable channel 21 or seattlechannel.org online – we’ll stream it here when this agenda item comes up).

Arbor Heights fire briefing set for City Council committee Wed.

Just never know what you’ll find in a Seattle City Council committee agenda. Reading through the ones available early today for meetings coming up this week, we discovered that the council’s Public Safety and Education Committee, chaired by Councilmember Tim Burgess, is scheduled for an “Arbor Heights Fire Briefing” when it meets at 9:30 am this Wednesday, last item on the agenda. The scheduled briefers are Seattle Fire Department Chief Gregory Dean and Seattle Public Utilities director Ray Hoffman. This goes back to the August 27th fire that destroyed a home on 41st SW (WSB coverage here); hydrant problems hampered firefighters’ ability to make a quick full attack on the flames. The hydrants and water system are SPU’s responsibility; we have followed up with them several times since the fire. Two days afterward, they promised an “after-action review”; two weeks later, we had information about hydrant testing; then there was a promise of larger hydrants where water-main sizes permitted, and we updated the status of that work last month. (And in a side note, an SFD investigator discussed the fire at length during October’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting.)

Wednesday’s council-committee meeting is at City Hall downtown and will be live on the Seattle Channel, cable 21 or online.

Update: All lanes reopened after 4800 block Delridge fire call

12:38 PM: Traffic is blocked by fire units in the northbound lanes of Delridge near Hudson. It’s because of a fire call that started big but reportedly has turned out to be “food on the stove” – we’re still en route to the area to make sure.

1:18 PM: Still haven’t confirmed the cause of the problem – there was smoke visible in the area when we got there – but Delridge is now reopened both ways.

Update: Fire call in the 5600 block of 35th SW

Seattle Fire is sending a full response to a home in the 5600 block of 35th SW. According to the scanner, the first report came in as a lamp fire that “extended to a wall.” First firefighters to arrive didn’t see smoke or flames, but they are investigating; some of the units originally dispatched are being canceled.

West Seattle traffic alert: 6700 block 35th SW fire call

Just arrived at the scene of a house-fire call in the 6700 block of 35th SW (map). Scanner says some units are being dismissed — our crew on scene confirms that – so no fire, but it’s affecting northbound traffic on 35th near Holly, so avoid that area for a while.

West Seattle traffic alert: Fire call at California/Hinds

What originated as a fire call at a tanning salon at California/Hinds (map) turned out to be an electrical problem – no fire, nobody hurt, according to firefighters at the scene. But it was a big initial response – as required for any kind of “fire in a building” report – so until the units clear out, traffic is blocked there.

Update: 2 cars set on fire in 2 hours in West Seattle

2:05 AM: That’s the aftermath of the second of two car fires in two hours in eastern West Seattle tonight. There’s no official information on the two fires, not even whether they’re potentially related, but we do know that police and fire investigators were sent to both scenes. Our photo is from 28th/Brandon, an undeveloped street north of eastern High Point, where the burning car was found after midnight. About two hours earlier, another car fire was investigated at 18th and Myrtle, a mile and a half away (as this map shows). We hope to find out later this morning if arson is suspected in either or both.

9:37 AM UPDATE: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore says their investigator determined both fires to be arson: “There are no witnesses and no suspects. It is under investigation whether the two car fires are related or not.”

2:48 PM UPDATE: More information just in from SFD’s Moore: The 18th/Myrtle fire involved a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee and did $6,500 in damage. The 28th/Brandon fire (as shown in our photo above) involved a 2005 BMW, with damage estimated at $16,000. Both fires are currently under investigation by SPD.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Plea deal in domestic-violence arson

(6/28/2011 photo courtesy Kathryn)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

One of our periodic peeks into various court files to check on ongoing cases has just yielded news: There’s been a plea bargain in last June’s arson/domestic violence case in Gatewood. It happened three weeks ago, but we just spotted it now, and it does not appear anyone else has reported this yet. The fire happened on June 28th; the only person hurt was the defendant and home co-owner, 40-year-old John C. Siegel, whose injuries were later described as self-inflicted. He was found sitting outside the home as it burned.

The case drew extra citywide attention because Siegel had just gotten out of jail a month earlier after a plea bargain in a domestic-violence case that also yielded a charge of threatening a judge (as reported by Seattle Weekly). He is a lawyer and has been representing himself in this case, as he did in that one; the list of files in the four-month-old arson case is longer than many lists from cases that have been going on for years, and full of documents he wrote by hand while in jail (where he’s been since the fire). Here’s what we found out about Siegel’s plea bargain: Click to read the rest of West Seattle Crime Watch: Plea deal in domestic-violence arson…

Video: Chimney fire in West Seattle townhouse, $60,000 damage

ORIGINAL 2:40 AM REPORT: More Seattle Fire crews are on their way to what started as a not-so-big response at a multiplex near 26th/Thistle in West Seattle, but is now described as a “roof fire.” We’ll be there shortly.

2:50 AM UPDATE: Our crew is just arriving and says this is a complex right across the street from Chief Sealth International High School. Scanner traffic says a chimney fire has extended into more than one unit, but the fire is under control. Police are being called for traffic control on SW Thistle. Our crew says firefighters are cutting ventilation holes in the building’s roof.

3:32 AM UPDATE: Damage estimate and cause investigation have to wait till fire investigators can make it here from another major fire scene they have been working elsewhere in the city (an ATM/bank fire in Madison Park). No injuries reported here, and the fire is pretty much out. We’ll add followup info whenever it’s available later this morning.

1:50 PM: Official investigation and damage info just in from SFD’s Kyle Moore: He says the first report was a “911 call reporting a fire from a fireplace that had grown out of control,” and that, “A Seattle Fire Investigator is calling this accidental in nature caused by a chimney fire that expanded to the wood walls around it. The damage estimate is $50,000 to the structure and $10,000 to the contents.” The Red Cross is helping those who weren’t able to go back into their units.

Arbor Heights fire aftermath: Hydrant upgrades almost complete

Seattle Public Utilities says it’s almost finished with the hydrant upgrades promised after water-flow problems hampered firefighters’ work to extinguish the flames that destroyed an Arbor Heights home on August 27 (WSB photo at right). We spoke with SPU today, after Arbor Heights resident Kevin McClintic clued us to work that’s been under way in the area this week (and shared the photo atop this story).

According to SPU’s Ingrid Goodwin, “Ten of the 12 hydrants that were identified for upgrades have been replaced with larger, standard-sized hydrants. The remaining two hydrants, located at 107th SW and 35th Ave SW, and 100th Street and 35th Ave, are scheduled to be replaced by the week of November 14.”

During work yesterday, several Arbor Heights residents noted on the WSB Facebook page that they lost water service but hadn’t received advance notification. Goodwin says SPU had warned “about 15 to 20 homes along 100th between 39th SW and 44th SW” that they would lose water yesterday, but the shutdown affected more homes than those. She said, “This was not supposed to happen, and we apologize for the disruption in water service to those customers. SPU is investigating why those homes, outside of the shut-down area, were affected.”

The new hydrants are painted yellow “for greater visibility,” Goodwin says, adding that while they originally planned to upgrade 11, a twelfth was identified and added to the list.

Ahead – see the list of the replacement hydrants’ locations: Click to read the rest of Arbor Heights fire aftermath: Hydrant upgrades almost complete…

Update: Electrical problem blamed for Sunrise Heights fire

(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
12:48 AM: On our way to a house fire that’s being fought in the 7100 block of 29th SW (map). The scanner describes “significant fire damage” on the home’s second floor.

1:08 AM: We have two crews there. Smoke is still coming from the top floor but via scanner, we have heard crews declare the fire “tapped.” No report of injuries so far.

1:27 AM: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore just briefed us at the scene. Neighbors called the fire in after seeing flames shooting out of the house. No one was sure for a while if anyone was inside but the house has been thoroughly searched and no one was there.

Too soon to say what caused it. A “fire watch” will be kept all night, just in case of flare-ups. (added) Here’s our video from the briefing:

Adding more photos too. And we’ll update this story when there’s information about the cause.

8:50 AM UPDATE: Moore says SFD is ruling the fire “accidental caused by electrical in the attic. The damage estimate is 80,0000 to the structure and 5,000 to the contents. The family is staying at a motel because of the damage and the power being turned off to the house.”

Crime trends, Arbor Heights fire discussed @ West Seattle Crime Prevention Council

Story and photos by Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Can termite damage really cause a fire in your wooden home? A baseboard heater that is turned “off” stays off, doesn’t it? Just how can something “spontaneously combust” (which started the fire at right, in Arbor Heights in August)?

Many questions related to fires – and fire safety – were answered Tuesday night at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting held at the Southwest Precinct. A late but informative addition to the agenda: The Seattle Fire Department provided guest speakers – education specialist Dana Catts and investigator Ronald M. Ready from the Arson and Fire Investigation Unit.

First, Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis gave an update on current crime rates, stressing that recent success in reducing certain crimes was bolstered by “the efforts that have happened with our citizens here and their fantastic job they’re doing in reporting crime to 911, saying the right things to the 911 operators, giving the right information.”

Click to read the rest of Crime trends, Arbor Heights fire discussed @ West Seattle Crime Prevention Council…

Followup: West Seattle deck fire brings thanks, and a warning

An owner of the Beach Drive-area home where firefighters put out a deck fire (WSB coverage here) yesterday afternoon sent the following e-mail to both warn others, and thank the heroic neighbors who spotted the fire:

I am one of the homeowners who deeply appreciates the help of our neighbors who called 911 yesterday. Here is what appears to have happened: Our deck was being refinished. After the worker (who doesn’t smoke) left, it appears that the rags and cans of deck stain were heated by the sun, burst into flame and ignited the siding and the deck. The firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire just as the flames broke through the windows and began to reach inside! Now, we are dealing with repair and lots of cleanup. Thanks to our neighbors and our very fast and professional fire department!

The homeowner says it’s worth taking a look around your home/condo/apartment to be sure you don’t have any unattended cans at risk of doing the same thing. If you do – but they’re not in active use, so you just want to get rid of them – here’s how/where to do that.

Update: ‘Exterior’ fire at home over Beach Drive

4:48 PM: A full house-fire response is at a home in the 3800 block of Boyd Place SW. According to scanner traffic, it’s an exterior fire, no one’s home, and some of the initially dispatched units are being dismissed. We’re en route to take a look.

5:08 PM: Our crew is there; this is a few blocks uphill from Cormorant Cove, south of Alki Point. Firefighters are on the deck of the home. Lots of fans are in use – usually used to ventilate after smoky fires. Earlier scanner traffic had said nobody was home.

5:31 PM: Whatever damage was done, wasn’t major, and wasn’t visible from the street. The house is habitable, we’re told. Investigators are working to figure out what started the fire.

7:03 PM: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore says investigators blame the fire on spontaneous combustion of paint rags, with damage totaling $12,000.

Update: Fire outside J.F. Henry tackled by heroic neighbor

(Updated 8:07 pm Saturday with more information from fire investigators)
ORIGINAL 12:16 AM REPORT: A big Seattle Fire response is at 4445 California SW, which maps indicate is home to JF Henry and Company. Scanner traffic says there’s a fire on the exterior of the building but it does not appear to have spread inside. We’re on our way – more to come.

(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
12:26 AM: The fire is reported “tapped,” with light smoke inside but no sign of interior flames. Some of the fire units have been dismissed from the scene, but several remain, and investigators are on the way.

(Photo courtesy Brad)
No report of any injuries.

12:44 AM: Business owner Tom Henry is at the scene, talking with firefighters. Hard to tell for sure in the dark, but the damage does not appear major – some charring on the back of the building. Firefighters think the “light smoke” they originally detected inside had probably drifted in from the exterior. No word on a cause yet, though.

(Photo by WSB contributor Katie Meyer, damage on southwest [rear] corner of the building)
12:54 AM: WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand has just spoken with Tom Henry, who confirms the interior of the store is OK and he will be open for business as usual today (Saturday). He says he feels “lucky” that the fire was spotted so soon – he isn’t sure yet who called it in, but there were still people at nearby businesses Pagliacci Pizza and Spring Hill. Besides charring on the building, his recycling container was burned.

(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
He says he found out about it because when firefighters busted through the back door to check for fire “extension,” that set off the burglar alarm, which triggered an instant notification to him.

1:43 AM UPDATE: We just got a call from Tom Henry, after he learned the identity of the hero who caught the fire so fast – Spring Hill chef/co-owner Mark Fuller. Tom says Mark used two extinguishers on the fire before SFD arrived; he wanted to say a public thanks to Mark for being such a good neighbor.

8:07 PM UPDATE: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore says investigators have determined that the fire started in the recycling bin, but have not determined yet what sparked it. Damage is estimated at $10,000.

Arbor Heights fire aftermath: Some hydrants to be upgraded

Another followup today on the water-pressure/access problems that hampered firefighters in the early going on August 27th, when flames gutted an Arbor Heights home, sending black smoke so high into the sky that it could be seen for miles around. We have reported that Seattle Public Utilities, which is accountable for hydrants and water service, plans an “after-action review” with the Seattle Fire Department. And today, we just got word that SPU plans to take two steps for starters:

First, SPU spokesperson Susan Stoltzfus tells WSB, eleven hydrants in the area will be replaced with larger hydrants – she says those hydrants are attached to some of the area’s larger water mains, and could be upgraded to provide better water pressure. (Those 11 do not include the two hydrants that firefighters first tried to use on August 27, she says, because they are connected to smaller mains and just enlarging the hydrants wouldn’t do any good.) Second, she says SPU and SFD will decide on a way to make it obvious to firefighters which are the lower-pressure hydrants and which are the higher-pressure hydrants. These are not the only steps they’re going to take – that review is still ahead – but she says this is something they can do relatively quickly (within three months) to help.

(The family who rented the home, you may recall, was out of town when the fire happened; as we reported last week, they are continuing to get back on their feet.)

Update: Westwood apartment fire blamed on electrical short

1:16 PM: Seattle Fire has sent a “full response” – multiple engines and trucks, medic unit, etc. – to a fire reported in the 8600 block of 25th SW (map). The first crews to arrive saw smoke. We have a crew on the way.

1:21 PM: Via scanner, we’re hearing crews report they’re putting water on this fire through a hole they cut in the roof. The fire is just about two blocks south of the Chief Sealth International High School/Denny International Middle School campus. It doesn’t sound like a major fire, though – they’re canceling some of the units.

1:34 PM: Just talked with the incident commander on scene. This was a second-floor apartment, nobody home, no injuries. They’re still checking the extent of damage, and investigating the cause. (added) The fire was between the rafters and the roof, and SFD says the unit itself was the only one involved, and was not heavily damaged.

FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: We checked back with SFD re: the cause and damage, and spokesperson Kyle Moore provided this info: “A Seattle Fire Investigator determined the cause of the fire as an electrical short in the attic. The damage estimate is $14,000 to the structure and $1,000 to the contents.”

Arbor Heights house fire, 2 weeks later: Three followups

(August 27th photo by Tony Bradley)
Two weeks ago tomorrow, a black plume of smoke was visible from all over West Seattle and miles beyond, as flames consumed a home near 41st/102nd. We’ve been following up on three issues raised by the fire – from the water-supply problem that hampered firefighters’ work in the early going, to the status of the family who lost their belongings (and two pets) in the fire. Read on:

Click to read the rest of Arbor Heights house fire, 2 weeks later: Three followups…

If you heard the sirens: Fire call on Harbor Island

6:06 AM: Just in case you heard the sirens and wondered – there’s been a big response in the past 15 minutes or so to a “pier fire” call at Vigor Shipyard (1801 16th SW) on Harbor Island. Scanner communication indicates it’s NOT a major call and that it’s already “tapped,” so all but a few of the responding units have been canceled. 6:12 AM: Also per scanner: The small fire was on or near a “Navy vessel” that’s at the shipyard and has its own “shipboard firefighters,” who are getting help from Seattle Fire crews in making sure it’s completely out.

Arbor Heights crime-prevention meeting brings new info on helping Saturday’s fire victims

Arbor Heights is among the few areas of West Seattle not represented by a community council – but Arbor Heights Community Church leaders say they’re trying to step up and help with neighborhood organizing. Tuesday night’s community meeting at the church was announced 2+ weeks ago as a chance to get information about crime prevention, and that certainly was discussed, with the help of Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon. He presented information including how to set up Block Watches. But last Saturday’s house fire, less than a block from the church, was a big topic too.

As first reported here Sunday night, AHCC is coordinating donations for the family who lost everything in the fire, and we got an update on that from Pastor Ken Ross, who says he has met with the fire victims and describes them as still in a state of shock:

*Red Cross has provided them with lodging for 2 weeks; they are still looking for a rental, preferably in the Arbor Heights area, since they have two kids about to go back to school (12-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy, according to family members’ comments).

*Fundraising has totaled $3,000 so far (donation info is here)

*Want to offer clothing or other types of non-monetary donations? The church doesn’t have storage but asks that you e-mail ahfiredonations@yahoo.com to coordinate, or, as previously requested, call 206-935-5714 between 10 am-2 pm today or Thursday (after that the office won’t be staffed again till the following Tuesday)

The pastor also says he plans to meet with a Seattle Fire Department representative regarding the complications of Saturday evening’s firefighting operation – including response time and water pressure. (Here’s our Monday night report on the city’s review plan.)

City plans ‘after-action review’ of Arbor Heights fire’s water woes

(Saturday photo by Katie Meyer)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The slack hoses told the story early on at Saturday evening’s house fire in Arbor Heights.

But what was really the problem that led to an inadequate water supply/pressure for firefighters, and forced them to run hoses to relatively distant hydrants?

(Saturday photo by Tony Bradley)
(You can see some of the effects in this bystander video we just found.) A spokesperson for Seattle Public Utilities, which is accountable for the hydrants, tells WSB that SPU and the Seattle Fire Department plan an “after-action review” of the incident.

That’s part of what emerged in our follow-up conversation this afternoon with SPU’s Andy Ryan.

Click to read the rest of City plans ‘after-action review’ of Arbor Heights fire’s water woes…

Arbor Heights fire: How to help family who ‘lost everything’

Arbor Heights Community Church, less than a block away from the home destroyed by fire Saturday evening, is organizing efforts to help the family who lived there. They were out of town when the 2-alarm fire, blamed on “spontaneous combustion,” happened. Church volunteer Jerri Anne Forehand tells WSB they returned to West Seattle today and are “trying to sort everything out,” dealing with the fact they “lost everything.” First, the Red Cross found them a place to stay tonight, but for the longer run, they are looking for a house to rent, preferably in the Arbor Heights area, because their kids start school next week. Second, the church is collecting monetary donations for them. Jerri Anne says you can drop a check off at the church or mail it in – make the check out to the church, designated for the fire victims’ fund, and they “will cut one big check for them” later this week, she says. Arbor Heights Community Church is on the corner of SW 102nd/41st SW (mailing address is 4113 SW 102nd, zip 98146), 206-935-5714; if you want to stop in or call with a check and/or information on a potential rental, someone will be there 10 am-2 pm Monday-Thursday this week.