Update: Small fire at Admiral District apartment building

A small fire at the James Apartments (on California north of Walker, map) is now out, nobody hurt, but about two blocks of California were closed for a while because of the huge response (thanks to those who called/texted/e-mailed us about it). The incident commander told us at the scene that the fire may have started in a ground-floor unit’s kitchen; that unit may be damaged too badly for its resident to return immediately. Investigators were on the way a short time ago to work on finding the official cause, as firefighters mopped up:

BORN&RAISED WEST SEATTLEITE April 29, 2008 (6:21 pm)

That was one of the biggest responses I have ever seen to a fire in the Admiral area. There were 6 fire trucks, at least 3 medic ones, Air 9,2 Captain vehicles, numerous police and a whole lot of sirens and then nothing!! Lot’s of action for a little kitchen fire…were there drugs involved?? Heard some rumors…

WSB April 29, 2008 (7:13 pm)

If it’s a building with potentially a lot of people inside, they HAVE TO send absolutely everything they can. Re: what caused it, the Fire Department media line does not have an update … but I will be checking with the PIO tomorrow morning to see what they found out.

Alvis April 29, 2008 (9:28 pm)

It’s safe to suppose that the glut of response vehicles was mostly dispatched from the Admiral fire station. I mean, the station is a stone’s throw, just a couple blocks, from the apartment building.

rdm April 30, 2008 (7:29 pm)

A typical fire response in the city gets 4 engines, 2 ladders, 2 chiefs, 1 aid car, 1 medic unit, 1 air unit, 1 staff vehicle, and a safety officer. Most firehouses in the city only have 1 engine some have a Engine and a Ladder. Station 29 in the Admiral district has a Engine and a Chief the rest of the units came from the other West Seattle stations.

Sorry, comment time is over.