West Seattle, Washington
07 Sunday
Major fire callout at 8638 10th SW (map). Crews aren’t saying much on the scanner about how big it is; heading over to check it out. 11:53 PM UPDATE: Only two trucks were still there, no frantic activity, no visible smoke, so nothing big (though whatever happened may have forced the residents out for the night; after returning, we heard a scanner call to bring in the Red Cross to assist them).
Seattle Fire investigators say the 15th SW apartment fire was an accident – started by “smoking materials” thrown into a trash bag. (Additional photos at top and bottom of this post just sent in today by DJ Sonsteng.) Meantime, WSMom posted this comment following the original WSB report. Way to go:
I happened upon the apartment fire and called 911 at about 3:30 this afternoon. “Seattle Police and Fire, can you hold please†is the answer I received. It’s interesting what goes through your mind at a time like this. The fire was quite big and there was an impressive amount of smoke. I stayed on hold, hoping someone else had already gotten through to a real operator. Not knowing what I should do, I started pounding on doors and yelling “FIRE, GET OUTâ€. We should all learn how to say “fire†and “get out of the building†in Spanish. When the 911 operator came on the line, she asked if there were people in the building and when I said yes she told me to get them out. It was actually reassuring to be told to do what I was already doing. I carried a little boy out of his family’s apartment and helped him get his shoes on once we were at the sidewalk. His parents had their hands full lifting their newborn’s stroller down the stairs. It was very cold outside and all the little boy had on were pajamas, so I was glad to find some of my son’s outgrown clothes in a giveaway bag in my car and I set to work putting some warm clothes on the child. His parents didn’t speak English so I used the universal language of pointing and shivering to get their permission to dress their child. Right about this time the first of four or five fire trucks pulled up and quickly got the fire under control. My son sat patiently in the car the whole time waiting for me to get back and continue on to his brother’s basketball game. I’m going to make it a point tomorrow to learn how to say “fire, get out†in Spanish just in case.
Fire charred the northeast corner of an apartment building at 9200 15th SW this afternoon. Multiple fire units and police were on site. NEW INFO: According to a 5 pm update on the Fire Department media hotline, the flames were confined to one unit on the 1st floor, where one person lived; firefighters evacuated everyone safely from this 10-unit apartment building (county property records here), and no one is hurt. (Later Monday night, investigators determined “smoking materials” accidentally started the fire.) Photos are by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli; we also added 2 WSB video clips below these next two photos:
Thanks to everyone who e-mailed, called, and texted to make sure we heard about this!
WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli is at the scene of a fire callout at 9231 32nd. He says it’s a small fire blamed on a candle that got knocked over. Photo to come. (P.S. The Fire Department has released information about the fire we covered this morning at 9000 20th SW, and we’ve added it to the top of our original report.) 8:18 PM UPDATE: Here’s one of the photos Christopher sent back. The call is closed now; no injuries, no noteworthy damage.
8 PM UPDATE: According to the fire department’s media-info line, this fire did $40,000 damage to one apartment and a hallway on the building’s third floor; investigators say it’s accidental, caused when combustible items were left too close to a hot-water heater. A woman and three children were living in the apartment and the Red Cross is helping them find someplace else to stay. No one was hurt. 12:58 PM UPDATE: Video clip showing the scene. Again, not a big incident, but certainly affected dozens of residents.
11:58 AM UPDATE: Just back with pix (and video to come). No visible smoke or flames from outside; firefighters have been working on ventilating the roof to clear out smoke that’s reportedly inside the building. No word about injuries, or extent of damage.
ORIGINAL 11:35 AM POST: 9000 20th SW – thanks for the e-mail and text messages – we’re en route to check it out. (33-unit apartment building owned by the city Housing Authority, according to property records; the SHA info page with building photo is here.) Scanner communication suggests some road blocking in that area, so stay away if you can. Map:
If you’re wondering why what seemed like half the fire department rushed a little while ago to 6050 42nd — it’s SOP to have a big callout when fire is suspected in a residence of any type, but in this case, it was just a chimney problem. 8:07 AM UPDATE: Details from WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli, who says it was a “dirty furnace chimney that made smoke back up into the house – no injuries or damage.” Most of the units pulled back fairly quickly. Christopher’s photos:
One more note from this incident – our other WSB contributing photographer Matt Durham also checked out the scene; Matt, who also works as a professional firefighter, notes, “Often this (type of incident) is a result of a furnace that needs servicing such as cleaning and filter replacement. Dust falls into the burners and disperses a small amount of smoke through the house that smells like the onset of fire.” Good reminder for us all to keep an eye on the condition of our furnaces.
Over the weekend, we mentioned the fire that swept through this house early Saturday. Tonight, we have a followup e-mailed by Ricardo Guarnero, proprietor of nearby Cafe Rozella:
Wanted to let you know of an unsung hero in the fire that gutted the house at 9415 Delridge. Six people were sleeping upstairs where neighbor Paul saw a bright light from his window next to the house. He looked out and saw flames bursting out of the lower window. Paul immediately started yelling to wake up the inhabitants. He then ran out and saw a truck with a ladder. Wasting no time, he propped it against the house and helped out all six residents. Had it not been for his timely actions all could have perished. Paul is the owner/mechanic of 944 West, a high-end German automobile repair shop.
Thanks to Ricardo for sharing that. (Also thanks to Trina for posting a comment with similar info, below the original post.) Whatever you see/hear/find out about in your neighborhood, e-mail WSB with info (photos and video welcome too), any time.
1:11 PM UPDATE: WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli got to the scene on Hudson west of 42nd first (and photographed part of the actual fire, as seen above and below) and reports:
Engine 32 and Ladder 11 are on the scene and a bunch of firefighters are watching the wires burn. Even they were scratching their heads about how weird it is. One firefighter told me that when they rolled up, a length of wire a block long was on fire. For some reason the wires are so hot that the insulation is burning off. They said there is nothing they can do but to let the insulation burn out. (You obviously cannot douse the wires with water). They said that afterward they have to watch them because the fire can weaken the metal and they can fatigue and come down.
ORIGINAL POST AT 12:46 PM: “Wires down” — That’s the label for a fire call happening right now in the 5000 block of 42nd. Heard some scanner talk about possibly restricting some access in the area; off to investigate. 12:59 PM UPDATE: Hudson blocked west of 42nd. Two engines on scene, including the one shown below:
The exterior appears intact but the charring over the broken-out windows suggests this house was gutted by the overnight fire there. It’s 9415 Delridge (map), on the north edge of the Delridge/Roxbury business district, at a location identified in county records and online searches as home to B & J Plumbing (we have left voicemail for that business to check on this); 911 logs show the fire callout was at 1:50 am. There’s no official Fire Department press release on this, so here’s hoping that means nobody was seriously hurt.
Excerpted from what Mark just wrote in the comments below our original report on the small fire that closed California for a while Sunday morning:
I was visiting with several residents at the Admiral Plaza Condominium … At one point I was a resident there and am familiar with many of the neighbors. Apparently a less than competent owner on the courtyard level fell asleep with a cigarette in hand. It was his next-door neighbor, an RN who just happened to be home on a Sunday, that detected smoke odor and pounded on his door. After what seemed like an eternity he answered, disheveled; smoke was apparent and she immediately called the fire department. … The victim sought shelter with the assistance of the Red Cross in a W. Seattle motel. … It was by God's grace and Maggie the RN's quick thinking that prevented what might have been a disaster. Most of the damage appeared to be limited to his one-bedroom unit.
ORIGINAL 10:40 AM POST: Just getting reports and pictures. Will have something up in a couple mins. 10:42 UPDATE: First photo from WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli. He says California is closed here because of all the firefighting equipment. This is near California/Spokane (map).
Another view of where the street was blocked off comes in this photo from Jerry (thank you!):
10:55 UPDATE: This building is home to a salon and insurance agency among other businesses; here’s a picture from a leasing-agency site. Here’s 2 more photos from Christopher, in which you get a better look at the ground floor of the building. We’re listening to scanner communication – doesn’t sound like a huge fire, which is good news.
Christopher reports no smoke smell or visible damage. We’ll let you know if/when we find out anything else.
(above photo by WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli) North of The Junction, reconstruction is back in high gear at 4132 California, the live/work units (city project page here; developers’ project page here) that were under construction when a huge early-morning fire (below photo by Garrett Burke) destroyed the project August 17th. Investigators declared it arson but so far as we know have never made an arrest (hotline for tips: 800-55-ARSON).
We all got excited October 12 when, the day after the demolition permit was granted, the ex-Schuck’s at California/Charlestown started showing some signs of impending activity. Then … nothing, till a construction permit for the replacement project was issued last Friday, and today, we got a reader tip (thank you!) that takedown crews were on scene … WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli went over for a look and reports, “… the entire interior is indeed gutted and the front windows are blown out. Looks like they went through the interior with a bobcat tractor [see second photo]. The north parking lot was full of burned-up debris.”
This one hit the inbox last week but is still worth discussing till the weather gets really bad, since so many of us live the outdoor lifestyle as far into the year as we can:
I was at a party in West Seattle … The fire dept. was called because we were having a backyard fire. It was in a fire pit, had a cage around the fire, hose was nearby as well as a fire extinguisher.The fire dept. didn’t ask about any safety questions, just wanted to know if it was a cooking fire. They said if it’s a cooking fire it’s okay. Implying that if we weren’t cooking, it wasn’t okay. I guess a neighbor had complained and the fire dept. had to come check it out. My friends have had problems with this neighbor before. My question is: What’s the law in regards to fires in your yard? How much does is cost to fire up those trucks and go look into those complaints? They brought the big truck and there were 5 firefighters.
The most recent information recorded on the Seattle Fire Department media info line says the fire that gutted this house on 23rd north of Willow this morning was “a set fire.” No elaboration on that, so far. The Fire Department also says no one was hurt and the family living in the home is now staying with relatives. The total cost of damage done by the fire is estimated at $150,000.
Big Fire Department contingent at 23rd north of Willow (just west of Delridge) because of a house fire. 9:50 AM UPDATE: Most of the fire crews are leaving now, but the house appears to be a total loss. 11:25 AM UPDATE: Brief P-I blurb says 7 people lived in the house and all got out OK.
UPDATE: As of 1pm there was still a fire crew on the scene. Here’s two pictures that were taken just half an hour ago.
A member of the family that runs the well-regarded Beach Drive Italian restaurant La Rustica had told us they hoped to reopen last night, after adding some remodeling work to the repairs following last month’s small fire. However, the work’s not quite done yet, so LR was still closed last night; our family contact says they are “working hard to open ASAP,” adding “the kitchen remodel is looking great!” and noting they have a big reservation for Saturday night & “intend to keep that reservation.”
If you’re in, around, or north of The Junction, you may have heard all the sirens. Numerous fire crews rushed to a reported house fire at 4050 45th (Dakota’s the nearest cross-street). Our first word at the scene comes from WSB frequent contributor Christopher Boffoli, who says it appears to have been a kitchen fire, and he’s not seeing any obvious signs of anyone having been hurt.
Christopher sends these two pictures of firefighters responding.
The popular, cozy Italian bistro on Beach Drive has been closed since the kitchen fire 10 days ago. La Rustica‘s owners were first hoping to reopen tomorrow, but we just checked with the family, and they say it will be one more week:
La Rustica will reopen Tuesday Oct. 9th. After assessing the damage from the fire and the time it would take to repair, we decided this would be a good time to refurbish and update the kitchen. Since it is such a small kitchen we are looking forward to the better use of space and efficiency. Thank you all again for your continued support and patience during this fire repair/remodel. We will see you all soon!
Truly,
The Pellegrini family
Received an intriguing note yesterday from someone saying she works with one of 
the two people forced out of their house by the Admiral/38th fire on Sunday night. The note-writer says the victims believe the fire was caused by something electrical, not “smoking materials” as the Fire Department was quoted in the P-I as saying, because, says the note-writer, neither of the victims smoke. We called the Fire Deparment’s public info office and left a message asking if anything about the suspected cause of this fire had changed; they didn’t call back. The note-writer says the folks at their unnamed workplace have started a collection for the fire victim, who reportedly suffered some other recent personal tragedy too. We’ll try the Fire Department again later …
Relief for Delridge residents — the burned-out car that had been sitting in front of a house across from Delridge’s northernmost Shell station is gone.
We took that photo over the weekend after a reader e-mailed us about the car; Mike Dady from the North Delridge Neighborhood Council told us action was under way to get it out of there, and that the person whose home it happened in front of, a longtime resident, was chagrined to have had this sort of thing happen outside his home. Mike reported it to SPD on Saturday after their Adopt-A-Street neighborhood cleanup (just too big to have picked this up and stuffed it in one of those yellow bags, unfortunately) and reminds us all that there’s an online form for reporting abandoned vehicles, especially helpful now that city codes allow for faster removal of junk vehicles (more here). Mike says Community Police Team Officer Brian Ballew (honored by the Seattle Neighborhood Group last week with a Community Builder Award — congrats) had this on his to-do list; looks like things moved fast. By the way, this gives us an excuse to mention one loose end from last week’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting — what to do about neighborhood nuisances. SNGi has tons of resources, including this “Take Action” brochure. (Here are other ways they can help you learn what you’re empowered to do to make your neighborhood better.)
While we were out getting “day after” pix of the fire scene @ 3809 Admiral, eagle-eyed WSB readers noted that the P-I is reporting Seattle Fire investigators blame the fire on “smoking materials.” 1st pic is the exterior damage, 2nd pic is the pile of burned-out stuff in the driveway. For those who have been through house fires, provided everyone got out OK (as was the case here), that’s one of the worst things afterward, regardless of who or what’s to blame — that charred mass that was your stuff, sitting for hours, days, maybe weeks, out in the driveway or the front yard.
In case you don’t see this new comment below our original post on last Friday’s La Rustica fire, Aimee confirms the October 2nd date heard on their phone recording over the weekend, and provides more information about what happened:
Hi all, I’m Giulio’s daughter. The damage was not severe and they should be up and running by the 2nd of October or before. It was a small kitchen fire but it did destroy one dining room wall. I originally painted that wall so it was hard to see but we’ll have the same look and great food up and running in no time. Thanks all for your concern and support. We love our West Seattle home and neighbors. Salute!
| 2 COMMENTS