West Seattle, Washington

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UPDATE: 2-alarm construction-site fire in North Admiral

April 11, 2020 3:27 am
|      58 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

(UPDATED 2:07 PM>)

(Video by Ryan O’Keven)

3:27 AM: Major Seattle Fire callout in the 2300 block of 48th SW [map] – a house site under construction is reported to be on fire, described as “fully involved.”

(Photo by Liz Murdock)

3:34 AM: They’ve just called for a second alarm.

(Video by William Skibitzke)

3:45 AM: This is reported to be a multi-unit building under construction.

(Added, photo by Laurie Cecil, from blocks away)

3:54 AM: The fire is under control.

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand from here down)

Our crew has just arrived and says it’s clearly “a total loss.”

4:04 AM: The address is 2329 48th SW, not 2325 as logged by SFD. We wrote about this project two years ago. It was planned as two rowhouse-style townhouse buildings, one five units, one two units – the larger one is what burned. Meantime, there’s concern about power lines in the area coming down, so City Light is being called in.

4:15 AM: SFD reports that “residents in nearby homes were safely evacuated with no injuries reported.”

4:45 AM: Some crews are being dismissed. We don’t have official word yet on how this affected the buildings on both sides (here’s the two-unit building next door:)

But firefighters have had to put out hot spots including a tree stump “across the gully” from the fire site. (And a few minutes later, “a pile of construction materials … is burning.”)

5:09 AM: Going on 2 hours now from the original dispatch. Thanks again to the person who called to tip us, and thanks to everyone who sent photos/video. About half the crews have been dismissed. No indication of the fire’s cause yet; we’ll have updates later today.

2:07 PM: Just went by for a daylight look. We also checked with SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo, who tells us 75 firefighters battled the fire. “The building is a total loss and the neighboring homes sustained minor damage. Several residents from the neighboring homes were evacuated as a safety precaution and no injuries were reported. Our crews are still on scene to monitor for hot spots. The incident is under investigation. “

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58 Replies to "UPDATE: 2-alarm construction-site fire in North Admiral"

  • rpp April 11, 2020 (3:34 am)

    It’s 5 townhomes fully engulfed. Multiple homes on each side are on fire now too. Probably 7+ homes

    • WSB April 11, 2020 (3:45 am)

      Co-publisher is still en route. The address on the log does not check to a construction project but sometimes the logged address is not the fire address.

    • cb April 11, 2020 (4:37 am)

      Can anyone confirm it was just the construction site or did other homes get damaged?

      • WSB April 11, 2020 (4:41 am)

        We don’t have SFD’s official assessment of that yet. They do have a public-information officer on scene.

      • rpp April 11, 2020 (5:31 am)

        It appears the townhome buildings directly adjacent on each side are damaged on the exterior but intact. 

      • eggo April 11, 2020 (5:49 am)

        construction site is gone, which includes 3 buildings. Well, one is still standing, but a loss. There’s some damage to the north neighboring building, which is occupied townhomes. But nothing major from my current vantage point. (I’m directly behind). The building to the south looks okay overall, but has some probable damage. I saw them spraying down the back porch right after things started to come under control 

      • sbre April 12, 2020 (7:57 am)

        I know firsthand that the townhome directly north of the construction site is uninhabitable.

  • RME April 11, 2020 (3:42 am)

    I’m all the way over by genessee elementary and woke up seeing the sky glowing red — checked the blog and lo and behold… thank you for the update.

  • Bob April 11, 2020 (3:46 am)

    Interesting during a time when residential construction is halted. Hope nobody is hurt. 

    • Watch dog April 11, 2020 (4:42 am)

      Yea right, they have been working every day!

      • md April 11, 2020 (8:53 am)

        No, they stopped a while back. I walk or ride by often.

        • rpo April 11, 2020 (12:29 pm)

          I live just behind the construction site. They were working there every day last week including yesterday.

  • Neighbor April 11, 2020 (3:47 am)

    Keep us posted, I live close by and hear loud sirens. 

  • Robert April 11, 2020 (3:53 am)

    Looks like 2329 

  • TN April 11, 2020 (3:54 am)

    WSB – I just kept hearing sirens, I thought there is no way they will be reporting anything at this hour and sure enough you are on it!  You rock! 

    • WSB April 11, 2020 (3:57 am)

      I only went to bed an hour earlier. Thanks to the person who called the hotline to alert us.

  • Lawrence O Merkle April 11, 2020 (3:55 am)

    Appears principal blaze is under control   Old address of previous single family dwelling is 2329 48th Avenue SW 

  • Melspy April 11, 2020 (4:34 am)

    Glad everyone is safe. . All i wanted to do wss hug a few of you.. but couldnt . Thank you SEATTLE FIRE. 

  • RT April 11, 2020 (4:42 am)

    Smoke from fire woke me and first thing I did was check the blog.  I’m  several blocks north and it’s pretty intense. Thanks for posting the address and I hope there were no injuries. 

    • WSB April 11, 2020 (5:07 am)

      SFD says no injuries reported.

  • Laura Newell April 11, 2020 (5:08 am)

    This was a pretty frightening night for the people in the building behind this site, and on either side as well I’m sure. I live in the building directly behind it and heard crashing noises (I’m pretty sure from the windows cracking in the heat and crashing out), when I went to investigate I could already see big flames along the bottom of the middle front 5 (there’s an open courtyard in the middle that let me see through to the middle front from my balcony). Definitely got my adrenaline going, don’t think I’ll be going back to bed any time soon. 

  • Eggo April 11, 2020 (5:32 am)

    I’m on 49th directly behind the construction site. When I woke up to my neighbor pounding at my door, the embers were already blowing into the giant cedar between our properties. That was the state of things when the fire department arrived. I thought there was a solid chance that my 3-unit building was going to catch. It was partly my sheer panic, but looking back, a real possibility. That’s to say, Seattle Fire did an outstanding job getting it under control quickly. Feeling so grateful right now that it was only construction and not an occupied building. There were some conspiracy theories being discussed on the street. I’m interested to see what really happened. 

  • Faye Malingson April 11, 2020 (5:33 am)

    This was next to our apartment building we had to evacuate.Thankful to my neighbors who woke me up. Everyone is safe. I’ve never seen anything like this fire.

  • 22blades April 11, 2020 (5:34 am)

    Up 3:15 am to go to work & the sky was lit up!

  • ITotallyAgreeWithYou April 11, 2020 (5:50 am)

    To my knowledge, work had stopped on that site several days ago. I awoke at 3:19a to the sound of the fire and seconds later 2-3 people yelling. Saw orange and thought emergency vehicles were outside. Got out of bed and immediately saw out my window the building fully engulfed, top to bottom, a ball of fire. Couldn’t tell if it was the unoccupied building or one of the occupied ones but the neighboring buildings were in danger, the fire was so big. Called 911 which was jammed (meant a bunch of people were calling, thank you neighbors!) Also proud of my neighbors for quickly alerting each other. Thank god it was the unoccupied building. 

  • Lola April 11, 2020 (6:00 am)

    Both of my son’s who live right behind it on 49th said it looks like it is just the construction site.  My one son banged on the other son’s door till they got up, he then got other residents out as well.  I am just glad they are all ok. The one son lives with a GF who has a daughter, they all came over to our house as she said it was pretty scary.  They have left to go back home.  So glad there were no injury’s.  Thank you firefighters. 

  • RT April 11, 2020 (7:27 am)

    That’s a relief.  Charred debris is scattered all the way up here on the 1900 block of 47th Ave SW.

  • RT April 11, 2020 (7:42 am)

    Glad to hear this.  Bits of charred debris are scattered all the way north to 1900 block of 47th AVE SW.  thankful there were no injuries and sorry for the property loss of all homes involved. 

  • Claire April 11, 2020 (8:32 am)

    Thank you Seattle Fire Department. Question, where the alarms on the fire trucks necessary? With both units called it seemed like 8 trucks with full alarms were heard for 20-30 minutes. As I looked out the window, no other cars were on Admiral the entire time. Wondering if it’s standard protocol or if the alarms could be silenced?

    • WSB April 11, 2020 (2:04 pm)

      Yes, it’s standard protocol. And it stretched out that long because 2 alarms were called. 75 firefighters.

    • Winniegirl April 11, 2020 (8:13 pm)

      The whole point of an alarm is to wake you up. I’msure that the people directly impacted by the fire were thankful. 

    • Ashleh April 12, 2020 (12:22 am)

      Claire- I hope you’re being sarcastic? This was a large fire that risked many buildings nearby. Do you know how self absorbed your comment sounds?

    • Melspy April 13, 2020 (7:23 pm)

      Really? I just can’t.  Wow.

  • Benni April 11, 2020 (9:22 am)

    Was there a cause determined yet?

  • Backyard Neighbor April 11, 2020 (9:40 am)

    I share a backyard with the townhomes and I want to say how impressed I am with the fire department. They did a fantastic job putting the fire out and making sure it did not spread. Thank you so much West Seattle Fire Department for keeping us safe and not allowing the fire to spread throughout the neighborhood! 

  • Neighbor April 11, 2020 (10:21 am)

    Our Ring video appeared to have captured the very beginning of the fire.3:16am https://ring.com/share/68143959708551297633:18am https://ring.com/share/6814396391761924771

  • Hi-Rez April 11, 2020 (12:16 pm)

    I just wanted to note that if you sign up for AlertSeattle they pushed out these messages at 4:15am and 9:54am:

    “AlertSeattle: there is a large fire in townhouse at 2325 48th Ave SW producing a lot of smoke. Residents should close windows and doors to avoid smoke exposure.”

    “AlertSeattle: last night’s fire on 48th Ave. SW caused fire debris to fall on roofs, vehicles and yards. If you find a hot piece of debris, pour water over it.”

    I think that I had to input my address when I signed up. So, maybe these are location specific as I live a block away. Guess I need to check the roof.

    • WSB April 11, 2020 (12:23 pm)

      Interesting. Definitely localized, as we have AlertSeattle via phone, email, etc., and did not get any of that (the second message was tweeted by SFD though).

      P.S. For those asking, no word on cause or official damage assessment – we’ll of course update when there is.

      • sbre April 12, 2020 (8:09 am)

        I received an ‘AlertSeattle’ text at 8:54am on 4/11.

    • Near-by April 12, 2020 (2:50 am)

      I have Alert Seattle on my phone but only received the 9am text. I’m less than 2 blocks away. 

  • AdmiralCaptain April 11, 2020 (12:48 pm)

    Interesting. Wonder what the cause will be determined as?

    Nearby neighbors – gear up for another 12 months of active construction. 

  • Person April 11, 2020 (2:14 pm)

    It’s a terrible horrible event. There is a bit of irony how the construction on that block is one complex per year instead of all at once. So constant construction. Now with this almost done we’ll get another year 

  • hersholt April 11, 2020 (2:33 pm)

    We had a hot ember float down on our yard more than 1/2 mile away and burn through a tarp.

  • LisaRaven April 11, 2020 (2:47 pm)

    Was this anywhere near the shooting yesterday? I seem to remember the name Morgan from those reports, as well.

    • WSB April 11, 2020 (3:40 pm)

      No, it’s nowhere near either area from last night’s incident.

  • Susan April 11, 2020 (3:47 pm)

    We were surprised how many black, dried embers were on the sidewalk on Beach Drive/Harbor Ave.

  • Shellz April 12, 2020 (12:37 pm)

    I live on 47th and could see the fire from my back deck. Embers were flying everywhere and landed in my raised garden beds. I did not realize that until the next mourning. They shouldered all night in 2 of my boxes. I had no idea that could happen. I guess there’s a lot of wood in some soils. My kids trampoline also has several holes burned in it. Scary situation. 

  • KB April 15, 2020 (10:01 am)

    Has the cause been determined? 

  • Jim Adams April 16, 2020 (10:36 am)

    I’m a private fire investigator looking into this fire.  If anyone was any information, witness statements, ring videos or other…please contact me at this email address.  jadams@qdotglobal.com  Thank you.

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