(Above photo by Tony Bradley, added 12:51 pm)
(photo by neighbor Nathan, added 12:36 pm)
ORIGINAL 12:13 PM REPORT: Thanks for the calls, texts, e-mails, etc. – on our way to a house fire in Arbor Heights, 35th/108th (map). More momentarily. Several reports describe it as “big.” 12:19 PM UPDATE: From Seattle Fire spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen: When firefighters arrived, they found a fully involved 2 story single family residence and two cars on fire. Nearby homes were threatened so they went into defensive mode, protecting them. A 34-year-old man — found outside the house — has “life-threatening injuries” from burns, but she says everyone else got out OK. And she says the fire is under control. 12:24 PM UPDATE: Co-publisher Patrick has just talked with Vander Houwen at the scene and she says people are being kept far back (traffic is closed for blocks around) because there IS (as posted in comments) “a SUSPICION of a meth lab being involved.” This is as close as we’ve been allowed to get:
12:39 PM UPDATE: In comments, Cliff writes:
We live across the street we left as soon as we could. I heard people yelling and went out my front door to see the house behind our neighbor’s house fully engulfed in flames. And I could hear small explosions taking place. We took our valuables and pets and left immediately. For years our neighbors have suspected drug activity in the house. I would not be anywhere near the fumes.
Another neighbor, Nathan, has sent photos via Twitter and we have added one at the top of this report. More than half a dozen police cars are at the scene as well as the sizable Fire Department presence. As of about 12:40 pm, the SPD Arson and Bomb Squad also has arrived. 12:54 PM UPDATE: Tony Bradley has sent photos – closest ones we have seen yet – we have added one at the top of this report and here are a few more:
Investigators have not been able to get into the house as hot spots remain but the Arson/Bomb Squad specialists are likely to try shortly, according to what we are being told on the scene.
1:12 PM UPDATE: Just in case you have seen “shots fired” reports anywhere: We asked, and there is NO indication any gunshots were involved here, according to what authorities are telling us at the scene. That early report of “sounds like gunshots” is believed to have been from potential small explosions neighbors heard while the flames were raging. Police spokesperson Mark Jamieson tells WSB the first call to police was from a neighbor who thought he heard a shot — minutes before smoke from the fire started pouring skyward — but it’s now believed that was likely a popping sound related to the fire. He also says he has no information at this point on any possible past drug activity at the house and at this point, “this is a fire call, with SPD assisting.” If investigators find evidence of a crime, of course, that status may change, and we will continue to monitor. We are also still at the scene, where the media’s been allowed to get a somewhat closer look at the fire aftermath.
1:40 PM UPDATE: Here’s one of those photos we just got – first of the house and cars, post-flames:
No official word yet on the condition of the burned man but he was said to be in pretty bad shape as he was rushed to Harborview Medical Center.
3:11 PM UPDATE: No official updates from fire/police recently but we’re going back to the scene to see if there’s anything new to learn there. Meantime, here are a couple clips from earlier in the afternoon – first, SFD spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen giving the toplines as they were known at the time:
Second, an even closer view from the same vantage point of the photo we added at 1:40 pm (above):
3:42 PM UPDATE: Roads in the area have just been reopened. Not much fire/police presence left at the scene. Adding another aftermath photo:
6:03 PM UPDATE: Latest from the Fire Department: The cause remains “undetermined,” and spokesperson Vander Houwen says she’s unlikely to have final word on the cause tonight – she says investigators still need to do “additional interviews” as they try to sort out what happened. The damage estimate at this point is $250,000.
10:01 PM UPDATE: This evening’s police update is basically “we’re still working with the Fire Department, but it remains primarily their investigation, and there’s nothing new to say” (our paraphrase). Our next update most likely won’t be before tomorrow morning, at which time we’ll start a new followup story. But in the meantime, we are reposting this comment that has just come in from “Neighbor”:
I’m not sure what all was written above but I’ll tell you my story and I was the first one to get to the burn victim.
I was doing yard work when I heard someone yelling help me, help me. I live on the next street over and ran to help him. I was the first person to get to him and he was sitting on the door steps of the house directly next door screaming for help. As I approached him he got up and started walking towards me and I along with another neighbor were trying to get him to sit down. He had terrible burns on his chest, hands, arms, some on his head, and really it was so crazy I was not trying to see where else. His skin was peeling off, really terrible terrible. He sat for a moment in the road from 108th to his house but then got up again and continued to the main street. Again we were trying to get him to sit but he was yelling help me (there was nothing at all we could do at that point we were waiting for help to come). He then started yelling to give him a car…..aparently he thought he would drive himself to a hospital. A man in a van stopped in the road and he got out to see if he could help. The burn victim then made a dash to the car (which I believe and someone else also agreed that there were kids in the back of that car) which was still running in the middle of the street to steal it so he could drive to a hospital. The owner of the car had to forcefully get the victim away from his car which was really sad to see because as we all knew the victim was in total shock. He then made his way up the street and finally sat at the corner of 36th and 108th street until the first fire truck showed up and then he walked down to it where they started treating him.
The stuff about the meth lab. NO, the house was not a meth lab, police and firemen I spoke with have all said there was nothing at all that indicated it was. The reason that got out is because there had been major concern that it might be by neighbors and police who were very familiar with the victim. In fact a police officer asked him very directly if there was a meth lab before sending in firemen!
There were many many explosions and so far all thoughts about what those were are speculation. There have been people who said that they saw spray paint cans exploding and there were two cars with gas cans that probably exploded. More explosions sounded like either firecrackers or maybe bullets but who knows for sure!
I spoke just an hour ago with fire units still at the house and from talking to them and seeing the damage it looks like it started at the car he was probably working on in his carport. The car lid was open and the damage was clear that it started there.
There was damage to the house directly next door but not really too much. Some homes have smoke issues but they all seem to be minor.
We heard that the mother was not in town and had just recently paid off the house and they were doing remodels on it like a new deck last week and new windows.
Also talking to one of the first responders they said that he had about 70% burns on his body (yes I can say it looked like that), and that due to the chest burn, the amount of burned body, and the possibility that he inhaled when he was on fire or burning he has a very serious uphill battle for his life. Those are not my words those are the words of a first responder who worked on him.
I am absolutely horrified by what I saw today and for what that man is going through. There has been lots of speculation about him being a guy who was not the best of neighbors but everyone I’ve talked to is nothing but concerned for his well being and feel horrible about it. I can tell you that everyone in the neighborhood is pulling for him and he and his family are in our prayers!
I don’t know if that clears anything up, but I’ve never been this close to a story like this and I thought I’d tell it the way I saw it and I saw the whole thing from the beginning.
More tomorrow, including, we hope, an update on the burn victim.
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