West Seattle Blog…

As-it-happened coverage: West Seattle house fire sends 1 to the hospital; damage estimated at $250,000

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
ORIGINAL 5:29 PM REPORT: Even before seeing the 911 call, our crew saw the smoke from miles north – a house-fire call in the 8400 block of 20th SW (map). We’re on our way.

(Photo courtesy Lisa)
5:34 PM UPDATE: From the scanner – “heavy fire in the basement” of a one-story home; everybody got out of the house safely.

5:40 PM UPDATE: Our crew has arrived and is seeing the flames in the basement, plus lots of smoke, and firefighters on the roof working on ventilation. Via the scanner, we hear two more engines being requested. Adding photos as we get them.

(Photo courtesy Amber, view from the alley)
5:55 PM UPDATE: Flames have broken through the roof. We have two crews on scene.

(Photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
SFD says its crews are in a “defensive position” on the fire now – basically, making sure it doesn’t spread, and taking precautions to ensure firefighters’ safety. The department’s public information officer and investigators are being sent now too.

(Video by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
6:09 PM UPDATE: Not out yet. Firefighters are going back into “offensive” mode, per radio traffic.

6:21 PM UPDATE: One hour after crews arrived, the fire is now deemed under control, but that doesn’t mean it’s out. They’re asking for the Red Cross to help two residents, described as a woman in her 80s and a man in his 50s. Too soon to say how the fire started. (Thanks to those who have shared photos and who texted/e-mailed to be sure we’d heard about this!)

6:33 PM UPDATE: Our crews at the scene have just talked with SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore, who says the residents are an 85-year-old woman and her 59-year-old son. He was taken to the hospital with minor burns suffered while trying to put the fire out himself. (added) Here’s video of his briefing, in its entirety:

6:56 PM UPDATE: The fire is finally declared “tapped” after an hour and a half. According to Moore, crews will likely have to keep “fire watch” through much of the night, which means a crew will remain at the scene just in case of flare-ups.

9:13 PM NOTE: No word yet on the fire’s cause. In comments, Deborah says the fire survivors are her grandmother and uncle, and she is thankful to those who called 911, because her grandmother couldn’t get the call to go through when she tried.

10:27 PM UPDATE: SFD says its investigation determined that “improperly discarded smoking materials” sparked the fire; damage is estimated at $250,000. Here’s the department’s summary, via its Fire Line website.

Meantime – We have more visuals to share, both from neighbors and from our crew; click ahead if interested: Click to read the rest of As-it-happened coverage: West Seattle house fire sends 1 to the hospital; damage estimated at $250,000…

Update: Brief police standoff ends at Luna/Anchor Park

7:33 AM: Developing story on Harbor/Alki – someone described by police as “suicidal and armed with a gun” is in a standoff with them just north of Don Armeni and at least part of Alki/Harbor is blocked off. SPD spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson says negotiators are on the way as is SWAT. We will have reports from the scene shortly but needless to say, avoid the area. Det. Jamieson says nobody has been hurt so far.

7:39 AM UPDATE: Multiple reports narrow the area down to Luna/Anchor Park. Buses are being turned around.

7:53 AM UPDATE: Traffic is being allowed through the area again, according to our crew at the scene – the person apparently followed through with his threat, according to a witness who lives across the street. A photo she sent shows a yellow tarp where the person had been standing on the northwest corner of the Luna/Anchor Park pier. (She also sent the photo shown atop this story.)

If you or someone you know is thinking of or threatening self-harm, the 24-hour Crisis Clinic hotline for King County is 206-461-3222.

(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
All this had unfolded over the course of less than an hour – police first got the call just after 7 am, Det. Jamieson had told us during our original call.

ADDED 9:46 AM: There’s no information beyond what we have already reported, but for those interested, here is the official police summary on SPD Blotter.

ADDED EARLY SATURDAY: David DeSiga shared this photo from sunset Friday at the spot where this all happened:

Update: More crashes – Fauntleroy Way, Delridge Way

ORIGINAL 9:09 PM REPORT: Thanks to everyone who’s been texting and calling about crashes – it’s been a dangerous night on local roads.

The latest is a crash in front of the opening-next-week Trader Joe’s in the 4500 block of Fauntleroy Way SW – and if you’re headed westbound on Fauntleroy, coming from the bridge, or 35th SW, you’ll be detoured onto a side street from Fauntleroy just before you get to the scene. Eastbound traffic toward 35th and the bridge is moving OK.

10:19 PM UPDATE: As pointed out in comments, westbound Fauntleroy is fully open again – we just checked it out in person, too.

Not related to the crash, but if you’re out driving tonight, remember the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct closure is now in effect till early am – we were just heading back from an errand on the other side of the bay, and the barricades were going up at 10 pm sharp.

11:28 PM NOTE: Another crash – this one, single vehicle, currently closing the 8100 block of Delridge Way SW. They’re calling an ambulance for a man in his 40s, though the injuries do not sound major at this point.

Update: Man dies after intensive rescue effort off Lincoln Park

(1st two photos by Patrick Sand for WSB)
ORIGINAL 9:52 PM REPORT: Rescue crews are converging on the Fauntleroy ferry dock after what was reported, according to scanner traffic, as a possible person in the water, reported to have fallen out of a dinghy. Our crew’s on the way; updates when we find out more.

10 PM UPDATE: The location where the person is believed to be in the water is actually off the south Lincoln Park beach, so that’s where rescuers are converging now.

They are still on the ferry dock too – with a fire-truck ladder extended (thanks to Maggie for pointing out it’s visible on the webcam):

10:10 PM UPDATE: Rescuers are headquartered by the first picnic shelter on the south stretch of Lincoln Park beach, where divers have been suiting up. Our crews on the scene say the Coast Guard has done a flyover and divers are about to go in.

(Photos from hereon out by Christopher Boffoli for WSB, except dinghy photo)
10:16 PM UPDATE: The ferry that was coming in has stopped a few hundred yards offshore.

(added) According to Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams at the scene, here’s what they believe happened: Two men in two small vessels were going back out to a sailboat anchored offshore. One apparently fell out. He’s believed to be in his mid-20s.

10:35 PM UPDATE: Divers are still in the water – but no rescue yet. No word of an active sighting, either. Adding a photo showing the light from the SFD ladder in the background (substituted later, actual ladder photo).

10:46 PM UPDATE: Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore is on scene. He says there were actually three men taking supplies out to the sailboat, when it was discovered one was missing. (added – photo of one of the dinghies/rafts)

Divers are still searching but if they are not able to find the missing person soon, Moore says the operation will officially change to “recovery” mode.

10:49 PM UPDATE: Our crews at the beach say the victim is reported to have been found and is receiving CPR, has been taken to med unit. Moore says he’s been told the man is still alive and getting “cold water resuscitation.” He is reported to have been not very far offshore – 20 feet maybe.

10:56 PM UPDATE: Back here at HQ, we’re hearing scanner traffic about rescued man – believed to have been in the water an hour. CPR and “slow rewarming” under way as they prepare to rush him to Harborview Medical Center.

11:16 PM UPDATE: SFD’s Moore says the man was found about 25 yards offshore. Don’t know when we’ll find out if resuscitation efforts were successful, but of course we will update the story whenever there is info.

You may recall, this is the second time in five weeks that rescue divers have handled a call off West Seattle shores – last month, diver Tareq Saade died off Seacrest; his body was recovered about eight hours later.

ADDED 11:46 PM: Here is WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli‘s video of Moore’s media briefing right after the man was rescued:

6:38 AM UPDATE: Multiple citywide news orgs are reporting that the man didn’t make it. We don’t have independent confirmation so far, but the odds did seem very much against the possibility of surviving that much time underwater.

8:08 AM UPDATE: We also have spoken with Harborview Medical Center, where a spokesperson confirms the man died.

2 West Seattle crashes overnight; 1 person rescued from wreckage

That was the most serious of two overnight crashes, so far, in this area. Around 12:40 am, that car crashed into a railroad signpole at 11th SW/SW Spokane, just east of the “low bridge,” which was blocked off for a while because of the investigation. Before we got there, firefighters spent at least 15 minutes extricating the driver from the wreckage, according to scanner traffic. He was reported to be unconscious when rushed to Harborview Medical Center, and that’s all the information we have so far. The other crash happened an hour earlier at 40th/Morgan, and led police to block off Morgan for a while, according to nearby residents; early scanner reports on that one said that a parked car had been hit by another vehicle, whose occupant(s) then left the scene. We have a message out to police to see if they were ever found.

SATURDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams says of the 40th/Morgan crash, “The two males that fled the scene did not return, but officers were able to track them down and verify who was involved. The driver, a 16-year-old, was cited. He also received some medical attention for minor injuries he sustained in the crash.”

Update: High Point ‘building fire’ = ‘food on stove’

1:39 PM: Major response to the 6000 block of Lanham Place SW in High Point. More shortly.

1:51 PM: Our crew reports it turned out to be a “food on the stove” call – smoke but no real fire, and the Fire Department’s wrapping up.

‘Chain-reaction’ crash on 35th SW: SUV vs. truck vs. tree

Two people texted us in the past hour or so, reporting a loud “bang” or “crash” noise. This was apparently the source – a crash on southbound 35th SW, just north of SW Henderson (map; across from the Gasco station). No serious injuries, if any injuries at all – no victims were in sight by the time we got there, and the Fire Department‘s involvement in the call ended pretty quickly. But the “GOT JUNK?” truck wound up pushed into what we believe is one of the area’s famous collection of European Hornbeam street trees:

Tow trucks for both vehicles arrived fairly quickly; we’ll follow up later for any information on the crash’s cause, and to see if the tree will survive. (Speaking of which, a side note: Online information now indicates the Fauntleroy crash we covered in the early-morning hours yesterday was a suspected case of DUI).

2 hurt in Fauntleroy flip; church wayfinding sign damaged too

(Photos by WSB editor Tracy Record)
A suddenly ironic sign marked the spot where that car flipped onto a Fauntleroy sidewalk a short time ago, right on the curve from Fauntleroy Way eastbound onto Wildwood (map). 2 people were hurt, minor injuries per the scanner, and we can confirm that the one victim who was placed on a gurney was sitting up as he was wheeled toward a private ambulance. Police were tracing the car’s trajectory:

Though that “no stops” sign survived unscathed, what you see in the lower right corner of that photo is another sign that did not:

That sign has long been a wayfinder pointing people to Fauntleroy UCC Church a few blocks east. No other cars were involved in the crash, but this one had far-ranging effects; police were up on the house’s lawn looking for debris.

ADDED 8:59 AM: Kevin McClintic sent a photo of the sign, taken last fall:

Fauntleroy-residing community volunteer Judy Pickens says that to her recollection, it’s been there since the mid-’90s, with the family who lives there having kindly agreed to “host” the sign.

ADDED EARLY SUNDAY: This is believed to be a case of DUI, according to the SPD time-delayed “incident response” map.

West Seattle traffic alert update: Junction crash cleared

It’s not on 911 – no injuries, apparently – but a multiple-vehicle fender-bender crash is blocking SW Oregon between California and 42nd. So avoid that area for a while, if you’re heading that way.

4:05 PM UPDATE: WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli has just been at the scene and says traffic’s flowing fine now (aside from the usual afternoon backups) while the drivers exchange info.

Just in case you wondered: Highland Park fire call

The big fire response to the 8100 block of 15th SW this past half-hour was for a problem that turned out NOT to be a fire – we went to the scene just to verify, and fire crews told us it was a smoldering electrical wire. They’re canceling the rest of the units now.

1 taken to hospital after crash across from Lincoln Park

1 person was hurt and taken to the hospital after a 2-vehicle crash that briefly blocked northbound traffic in the 8400 block of Fauntleroy Way, across from central Lincoln Park. Should be clearing now, as crews were starting to pack up when we left the scene a few minutes ago, but since it’s a high-visibility spot – traffic coming from the ferry terminal had to maneuver around the scene – we thought it worth a mention.

Another police search: Driver walks away from Highland Park crash

Thanks to Pete for the tip on this (as well as an unsigned text message): Eastbound SW Holden should be open again at any time, since a tow truck was arriving at the scene where a white Jeep Cherokee crashed just east of 15th SW and blocked that side of the road. Its driver walked away (with a passenger, according to witnesses). No injuries reported.

Continuing coverage: Diver’s body found, brought ashore

(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
7:47 PM: Continuing coverage from this earlier WSB story: A recovery effort is now under way off Seacrest Pier, after a body was found this evening, believed to be that of the diver who vanished this morning after something went wrong during an advanced class in deep water. Seattle Police tell WSB that the body was spotted by civilian divers who kept looking even after the official effort ended late in the day; police, fire, and Coast Guard crews searched for hours before moving from rescue attempt to recovery effort.

A buoy is in the water, about 100 yards offshore, marking the spot where it was seen; police and fire are coordinating the operation to retrieve the body.

The King County Medical Examiner is there too, since it’s their job to investigate deaths like this.

7:57 PM UPDATE: Our crews at the scene says the body has been brought out of the water and is on board the Seattle Fire Department boat Leschi. The KCME is waiting onshore. They will be the ones to officially announce identification, once it’s made, and once they’re sure next-of-kin know, though that may not be until tomorrow. As mentioned in our first story, our archives indicate this is the first diver death in our area in three years.

8:15 PM UPDATE: The scene is starting to clear; the diver’s body is in the Medical Examiner’s truck, and police/fire crews are wrapping up, more than nine hours after this all began with a call that the diver was in trouble, as detailed in our morning/afternoon coverage.

8:41 PM UPDATE: There’s more information on the SFD “Fire Line” website, including more information on a related incident we’d heard about: A diver in her 50s, one of the civilian/volunteer divers who continued the search, had to be taken to Virginia Mason, where there’s a hyperbaric chamber, because of a medical problem following a quick ascent.

10:47 PM UPDATE: We’ve added video from WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli, who also took the photos in this story. And we’ve found some context on how part of the recovery effort unfolded, in a post by Laura James – whose underwater video has been featured here before – on the Northwest Dive Club message board. She was one of the divers who went down (after another volunteer team spotted the body) and marked the spot so the official recovery team could get there fast.

POSTSCRIPT: Bill Morgan from North Admiral sent three striking images of rescuers at work on Sunday afternoon, and we wanted to share them. First, the Coast Guard in the air:

The Seattle Fire Department, also “in the air,” before there was helicopter support:

And a Seattle Police boat, with divers:

Update: Body located in area where diver vanished

(EVENING COVERAGE can be found here)
11:18 AM: There’s a big response at Seacrest – a diver’s reported to be in trouble. Rescue crews are working from land and in the water. Lots of police as well as fire, so avoid the area TFN. We’re on the way; more to come.

(Photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
11:27 AM UPDATE: According to the scanner, the diver was at one point coming up with “a buddy” but then went back down again. There’s an extensive search effort under way.

11:39 AM UPDATE: Still searching for the diver who’s reported to be in trouble. Police are expanding the stretch of Harbor that’s being blocked off because of the big rescue response. An SFD public-information officer is on the way to deal with the increasing media presence.

11:51 AM UPDATE: The search continues. Per scanner traffic, the diver is part of an advanced class that was in deep water. Meantime, we checked the archives; last emergency response in the area involving a diver was in September; a diver felt ill after emerging from the water. The last water rescue involving a diver, according to our archives, was this one last May, in which the West Seattle Water Taxi and crew turned into rescuers.

12:04 PM UPDATE: The Coast Guard is also assisting in the search; it has a chopper flying over the area. Rescuers have been on scene for an hour now, but the diver remains – as described in radio traffic – “unaccounted for.”

12:33 PM UPDATE: Still awaiting word from our crew of an official SFD briefing. A diver who spoke with media crews a little while ago said this happened in 96 feet of water, clear conditions. Radio traffic indicates rescue vehicles will be thinning soon, with an announcement that Harbor Avenue likely will reopen within half a hour.

12:39 PM UPDATE: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore confirms this is shifting from search to recovery – divers have made three passes and have not found any sign of the missing diver, described as a man in his late 20s, experienced, with more than 50 dives in the past. He was out as part of an advanced class and then seemed to be in some kind of distress and started going up “too fast”; another tried to follow him but upon reaching the surface didn’t see the one who was in trouble. The group then signaled to people on shore that there was a problem, and that’s when fire/police were called. Moore says diver teams have made three trips down to 75 feet looking for the missing diver but haven’t found any sign of him; four divers (two police, two fire) are going to take one more look shortly. (Added above, video of Moore’s briefing, unedited, in its entirety)

1:26 PM NOTE: According to our archives, the last diver death in this area was three years ago.

4:28 PM UPDATE: We went back to Seacrest at about 3 pm; Coast Guard and SPD boats were still there, with the former heading out to look again.

6:32 PM: We are working to confirm a report the diver’s body may have been located.

7:03 PM: Police confirm that a body has been located. Civilian divers continued looking into the evening and told authorities around 6 pm they believed they had found him.

7:49 PM: We have started a new story with continuing coverage of the recovery operation.

Update: Bicycle rider collides with car door, taken to hospital

(UPDATED 2:51 PM with new information on injuries, circumstances)

12:19 PM: South of Morgan Junction, California SW is partly blocked near SW Myrtle (by Caffe Ladro; map) because of an incident involving a bicyclist. We’re at the scene to find out more.

12:25 PM UPDATE: Police tell us the bicyclist was heading southbound on California – uphill – south of the intersection when he collided with a car door. The rider was going to be transported by private ambulance, but then was moved to a medic unit. We don’t yet know the extent of his injuries.

12:32 PM UPDATE: The scene is clearing, and California SW is fully open again, according to our crew at the scene.

2:51 PM UPDATE: Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Kyle Moore tells WSB the bike rider is 30 years old and “was traveling approximately 25 miles an hour down the street when a car door opened in front of him causing him to flip over the door. He was not wearing a helmet. He remained conscious and responsive but could not remember the accident. He also had some facial lacerations. Our medics treated him and transported him to Harborview in stable condition.”

Update: ‘Suspicious package’ in Junction turns out to be road flares

(TOPLINE: Short-lived scare in The Junction, all over now)

11:30 AM: A fire call in the 4500 block of 42nd SW has some evacuations under way. We’ll be there shortly.

11:35 AM UPDATE: 42nd is blocked off north of SW Alaska, as you can see in the photo above, sent by Dale (thank you!). Scanner traffic has mentioned a “suspicious package”; we’re checking with authorities on scene. We’ve also just talked with Leon Capelouto, owner of the building, who says he believes the first report came from a manager at Altamira Apartments in the building.

11:40 AM UPDATE: Police confirm it’s a suspicious package – they heard about it around 11 am. The caller reported what looked like “a box of dynamite.” The Arson and Bomb Squad has just arrived, according to SPD spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson.

The evacuations are just as a precaution. Patrol units are there, helping with traffic control. Evacuees are gathered in various spots nearby.

Det. Jamieson says the “package” is apparently inside the building.

11:51 AM UPDATE: All clear, police and fire tell us at the scene – the “suspicious package” turned out to be a box of road flares. The road is reopening and those who were evacuated will be allowed back inside.

Update: Cat rescued from fire at animal advocate’s home

(SCROLL DOWN for updates including fire’s cause and how to help)

(Added: Firefighter Jeff Blevins with rescued cat; photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
10:41 AM: Fire units have responded to a house in the 3800 block of 46th SW – a few blocks west of California/Charlestown. First crews on scene are describing it on the scanner as a “room fire.” We’re on the way.

(Subsequent photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
10:48 AM: No report of injuries so far. Via scanner, crews say they have “knocked down” the fire, but it has “extended” – spread – into a wall, so they’re tackling that. We’ve just added a photo from our first photojournalist at the scene, Christopher Boffoli.

11:05 AM: A cat has been rescued from the house and is reported to be getting medical attention. Firefighters at the scene confirm the fire was largely confined to one room, on the second floor, but there was a lot of smoke in the rest of the house.

11:20 AM: Photo added, firefighter tending to the rescued cat. We have to disclose that we notified the homeowner, local animal advocate Teri Ensley, after recognizing the house, the scene of many fundraising plant sales she has held for Furry Faces Foundation. She is there now.

11:48 AM: We’re told the cat has been taken to a veterinarian. No word on the fire’s cause – the investigation unit, Marshal 5, was sent there, and we’re likely to have information later.

2:11 PM: We just went over to check with Teri. The rescued cat’s name is Jared, by the way. She’s found another cat who’s going to the vet to be checked out. Her house won’t be inhabitable for a while; she’s making arrangements for a place to stay and has found somewhere for the cats. We’re awaiting SFD’s official word on cause; the last fire crew was just leaving as co-publisher Patrick pulled up to follow up.

2:43 PM: The Fire Department’s account of events is up on their website. According to the update, “A Seattle Fire Investigator determined the fire was accidental. A hot plate that was left on ignited combustibles on the kitchen counter. The damage estimate is 60 thousand dollars to the structure and 10 thousand dollars to the contents.” SFD also says one 16-year-old cat didn’t make it. The update also notes that what you saw on Jared in our photo is a “specially designed pet oxygen mask” – here’s another view:

Meantime, commenters have provided info on how to help Teri and the cats; donations are being accepted at Beveridge Place Pub.

ADDED TUESDAY: Here’s a followup story with a list of what’s needed by Teri, the animals, and Furry Faces, for all those who’ve generously offered to help.

2011 in review, installment five: Christopher Boffoli’s photography

For more than four years now, we’ve been glad to be able to work with photojournalist Christopher Boffoli. Though lately his career focus have turned toward the unique “Disparity” imagery that gained worldwide attention this year, he took the time to look back at his WSB work from this year and put together a slideshow of dozens of memorable images. Many were from breaking-news stories, as that’s been his WSB specialty over the years, but that’s not all you’ll see if you click through the photos (or let them play automatically) … watch closely for, for example, the most-talked-about food from last July’s West Seattle Summer Fest. Speaking of food, Christopher’s about to open an exhibition of images from his “Disparity” work, January 10-February 23 at Winston Wächter Fine Art (203 Dexter Ave. N. downtown).

P.S. 2 more year-in-review roundups to come … we’ve archived previous installments (plus this one) here.

Update: High Point shooting ‘accidental,’ police now say

6:40 PM: Police and fire are responding to 32nd and Juneau in High Point, where a female victim – possibly a teenager – has reportedly been shot in the leg, possibly from a passing car, according to initial scanner traffic. More as we get it.

6:52 PM UPDATE: Police on the scene confirm to WSB that the victim is a girl “in her mid-teens” with a leg wound. They are still trying to sort out the circumstances. Meantime, scanner traffic from the medic unit crew describe the victim as 15 years old and quote her as saying “she only heard one shot.”

7:06 PM UPDATE: From the scanner – police are talking with some people and trying to find out if they were involved. Our crew at the scene is close to where this questioning is happening, about a block from the shooting scene. WSB archives show this is the first shooting investigated in West Seattle in 2 months, since the Admiral murder-suicide shootings.

7:53 PM UPDATE: Our crew says police have now handcuffed the male who was being questioned (caveat, that does not ALWAYS mean an official arrest, we will be working to confirm with police). Police also are impounding/towing a car in which a source tells us the victim and possible suspects all may have been (photo to come when our crew is back at HQ). We aren’t likely to get an official update on the victim’s condition, but the medic-unit radio exchange earlier indicated that her vital signs were good.

9:36 PM UPDATE: New information from Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith, who says that two “young males” found near the shooting victim and claiming to be “bystanders” were “investigated further and revealed that it was an accidental discharge inside the car. The bullet was recovered from the floor of the car. Shooter and gun are outstanding. A possible second female victim, who was not located, had reportedly been grazed by the single shot also. It appears a group of young individuals were smoking drugs in the car handling the gun when it was discharged, striking 2 of the females.”

Car bumps building after 35th/Barton hit-run crash

Busy morning for emergency responders. We checked this out right after the Fauntleroy shed fire. From the scene and the scanner, police believe that this car was hit by another vehicle that left the scene, just hard enough to override the parking brake and send it rolling onto the sidewalk and up to the front of this commercial building just south of 35th/Barton (map).

No injuries and no serious damage – the car hit the mailbox post and took out a few bricks on a planter in front of the business’s front window. (Editor’s note: We’ve blurred the plate on the top photo, per WSB policy on faces/addresses/plate #s.)

Update: Extension cord blamed for Fauntleroy shed fire

8:18 AM: More Seattle Fire units are on their way to the 8600 block of Fauntleroy right now. This started as a call about a “shed fire” and moments ago, crews on the scene called for a “full response” because it’s apparently spread to the house, as well as to a neighbor’s shed. We’ll be on scene shortly. The traffic camera above shows the emergency vehicles, just south of the south Lincoln Park parking lot.

8:33 AM UPDATE: On scene – northbound Fauntleroy Way traffic is blocked, as the “live” traffic-cam image above shows, but some southbound traffic (toward the ferry dock) is getting through. Police are there to help direct traffic. We haven’t seen damage to the house in front of the shed (seconds after we added this, the incident commander confirmed this), but the shed itself is significantly burned.

No report of injuries; investigators are on the way to figure out how it started.

8:51 AM: Traffic moving again. We’ve removed the traffic-cam image since the blockage is gone. We’ll update this later when there’s information about how the fire started; for now, we’ve added a photo from the scene (by WSB’s Patrick Sand), as well as a photo (courtesy Amy) showing the smoke, which was widely visible for a while (we even got one sighting report from Vashon, across the Sound).

9:29 AM: Added new photo atop this story – taken by Kristi while the shed was engulfed in flames.

10:59 AM: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore has information on the fire’s cause and damage:

The renter of the property was not home when the fire began. A Seattle Fire Investigator determined this was an accidental fire that began from an extension cord that ran from the house to the detached shed. Several extension cords were strung together to power a portable heater inside the shed.

An SFD Investigators estimates $17,000 in total damage. The breakdown of the damage estimate is $8,000 to the shed, $5,000 to the contents of the shed and $4,000 to the exterior of the garage.

West Seattle traffic alert: 35th/Fauntleroy crash

7:55 PM: WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli checked out this crash that happened a short time ago at 35th/Fauntleroy. No major injuries, he reports, but it’s blocking part of the road, as you can see, so slow going till it’s cleared.

ADDED 8:14 PM: More info from Christopher, who was on the scene right after it happened: He says the BMW station wagon was just off the bridge and collided with a minivan going the other way; both drivers, who appeared to be alone in the cars, got out of the vehicles right afterward. Bystanders pushed the BMW out of the main traffic lanes but the minivan wasn’t so easily dealt with – since it lost its driver’s-side rear tire.

Update: Three people hurt in 3-car 3rd/Olson crash

(Photo by Deanie Schwarz for WSB)
3:56 PM: Big emergency response to 3rd SW/Olson Place (map) just past the east end of Roxbury – there’s a crash that went out as an “automobile rescue” call. Our crew is there and we’ll have more shortly – for now, though, avoid the area, which is a busy route to and from Highway 509.

4:44 PM: From WSB contributor Deanie Schwarz – Three people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The road is not likely to clear any time soon.

(Photo by Katie Meyer for WSB)
5:19 PM: A total of three vehicles were involved, according to WSB contributor Katie Meyer. She says fire crews had to cut the top off one car to get the patient out safely. Still no word when the road might reopen.

8:38 PM: If you haven’t seen this in comments already – the road has reopened.

10:32 PM: It apparently then closed again – but is now reported as reopened. Meantime, police have published their account to SPD Blotter:

On November 11th at approximately 3:23 p.m. officers responded to the area of Olson Place SW and SW Cambridge Place for a multiple-vehicle head on collision with life-threatening injuries.

Preliminary investigation indicates that a 51-year-old male was driving westbound in his Nissan Pathfinder. The driver crossed the centerline and struck a 1999 Saturn head on. The driver of the Saturn, a 22-year-old male, was transported to Harborview Medical Center by SFD medics with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Pathfinder then spun around and was struck on the driver’s side by an eastbound, on-coming Toyota Camry. The Camry was being driven by a 63-year-old female, who was subsequently transported to Harborview Medical Center by SFD medics with life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Pathfinder was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

Officers evaluated the driver of the Pathfinder for signs of impairment due to alcohol and/or drugs. A blood draw was performed and the laboratory results are pending further investigation.

There were no citations issued at the scene, which is standard procedure in traffic incidents involving serious injuries, and that subsequently require collision reconstruction and extensive follow up investigation.

Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives responded to the scene and continue to actively investigate.

The road was closed in both directions and traffic re-routed so detectives could effectively conduct their on-scene investigation.