UPDATE: Candle blamed for igniting South Delridge fire

| Delridge | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

10:30 AM: An early-morning fire damaged that house in the 9000 block of 17th SW. The initial callout was just after 6 am; firefighters were still on scene a few hours later. They tell us no one was hurt – everyone got OK – but there’s too much damage for them to be able to go back inside. SFD investigators are looking into the cause. SFD is keeping an engine there for a while on “fire watch,” in case of flare-ups.

11:50 AM: As posted in comments, Chris recorded this (update: click here for video) while the fire was burning:

We’re still waiting to hear back from SFD on what investigators found.

1:17 PM: SFD spokesperson Kristin Tinsley tells WSB that investigators ruled the fire “accidental,” ignited by a candle. Damage is estimated at $230,000. (SFD recently published this advice about candle/incense safety.)

Chris April 3, 2022 (11:08 am)

This happened right behind my apartment. I woke up to a weird noise, went outside and that is what I saw. Thank God for those fire fighters or the houses next to it would surely be gone as well.

miws April 3, 2022 (2:15 pm)

Chris, We’re neighbors. I’m across from you, on the lower level, and a few doors down. I was in the bathroom/shower when the call went out, and it wasn’t until about an hour later when I heard some loud noises that I looked out the window and realized what was going on. I didn’t hear the sirens, despite the fact that I often can over the loud bathroom fan. When I heard the noise I was making my bed so looked out the bedroom window. I could tell it had been bad but am shocked to see *how* bad, from your vid. Just glad to hear that everyone got out safe, and the neighboring buildings were spared. —Mike

Chris April 3, 2022 (11:09 am)

https://youtu.be/y-Nd6PNOJbc
Here is the link for the video I took of it this morning.

mem April 3, 2022 (11:36 am)

Same owner as the house on Barton and 16th that burnt down a few months ago. They own more than a few run-down properties that never see upkeep nor improvements. The city needs to step up and hold these owners accountable for their sub-par properties. They are a menace to their neighbors!

WSB April 3, 2022 (12:24 pm)

If you mean the building on the northwest corner of 16th and Barton, property records show different owners. As for the city, the site of today’s fire does not have a complaint in the system since 2015 – as you may know, SDCI enforcement is complaint based, so you have to file one to get attention to a property:
https://www.seattle.gov/sdci/codes/make%C2%A0a-property-or-building-complaint

m April 3, 2022 (1:39 pm)

Awful and scary! Just for the sake of accuracy regarding the heading of the video – this took place in West Seattle a few blocks north of White Center.

WSB April 3, 2022 (2:10 pm)

The captioning/titling is purely up to the person who uploads it (in this case Chris, who recorded it, and thanks again for contributing it), so I have no control over that, and as you hopefully know, our style is to label everything within the city limits as West Seattle, which is why our headline and copy say South Delridge.
Chris April 3, 2022 (2:16 pm)

I’ve updated the title of the video.
Chris April 3, 2022 (2:54 pm)

I apologize but I had to remove the original video. Here is a link for another video that also shows the fire https://youtube.com/shorts/8puqnmUMGuc?feature=share
- Liz Nelson April 3, 2022 (8:55 pm)
  
  May I use the link on the go fund me I am creating?
  - Shalamar morrill April 6, 2022 (8:04 am)
    
    Hi Liz, I live next door, do you know if anyone living there has a cat? This girl is hiding under the house, and possibly has kittens down there too. She definitely belongs to someone and is in distress! Let me know if you have the contact info for the tenants and can help me get ahold of them.

sbre April 3, 2022 (3:24 pm)

Why were both videos removed from public view?

WSB April 3, 2022 (3:43 pm)

Chris just sent a note with a new link, substituting momentarily.

Rebecca von Duering April 3, 2022 (7:15 pm)

If anyone knows of a gofundme, would you mind placing it here?

Liz Nelson April 3, 2022 (9:10 pm)

https://gofund.me/f9ca2e22Just got it up and going. One of the displaced family members is staying with us for now. We were working on getting him some necessities before I had a chance to get the gofundme up and going. Thank you.

Liz Nelson April 3, 2022 (10:05 pm)

https://gofund.me/f9ca2e22I set this up for the family displaced by today’s fire. They are friends of ours.

Chris April 4, 2022 (9:15 am)

Please feel free to use any video or picture I have posted. If you haven’t already. I truly feel for you and your friends. It was terrifying to watch and I can’t imagine losing my home like that.

Vinoth Ramani April 4, 2022 (4:24 pm)

Hi Chris,I am property owner for the next house. My house fence also got damaged and some blackened wall due to fire. It’s very unfortunate. I am glad no one is hurt. AFAIK, my neighbors house was unoccupied, I am not sure how fire started. I live in CA btw.Regards,Vinoth.

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