West Seattle, Washington
07 Thursday
3:11 PM: There’s a medic response at California/Lander – by Admiral Safeway, Hiawatha, Lafayette Elementary – and reports say it’s a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision. One witness (@sylviarolle) says via Twitter that the person who was hit does NOT appear to be a young child, but appears to have been in the crosswalk by Admiral Junction mailing center (southwest corner). 3:23 PM UPDATE: The intersection is reopening – investigators are now gathered on the Safeway side. A private ambulance has just left. Police tell us the injury is NOT serious – the victim was female but we don’t know the age.
ORIGINAL 12:22 PM REPORT: A crash at California/Monroe (map) in Gatewood has California SW closed for a few blocks in both directions. As you see in our photo, it involves a car and a pole, and utility lines are down. No serious injuries reported. 12:59 PM UPDATE: Street’s still closed. Seattle City Light apparently needs two crews to deal with the pole/line problem caused by the crash, and is still awaiting the second one. 1:19 PM: Brian Zenk shares this photo from another angle:
1:51 PM: California SW is now open again. But you can’t turn onto Monroe – it’s blocked off – the pole is still at an angle.
11:19 PM: That’s one photo we didn’t use earlier – showing that part of the pole was knocked all the way across California to the west side of the street. As of just minutes ago, crews are still out working on the pole and the lines, and the California end of Monroe remains blocked off.
Thanks to @raypage on Twitter for almost immediate word of a crash that’s affecting traffic in the south end of The Junction – a motorcycle-car crash. Ray says the cyclist does not appear to be seriously hurt. The photo above is an overview of the scene, also via Twitter, from @kurtricketts. Ray has images from the scene here. 5 PM UPDATE: We were en route to check on the traffic situation when Brian from TouchTech Systems e-mailed an update – he says the ambulance has taken the motorcyclist away, and the scene’s now clear, traffic back to normal.
(WSB camera-phone photo by Christopher Boffoli, added 11:37 pm)
ORIGINAL 11:20 REPORT OF 35TH/AVALON “HEAVY RESCUE RESPONSE”: WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli is on his way to the scene. Scanner indicates it’s a crash at the Starbucks drive-through – and one radio transmission indicated “substantial damage.” 11:32 PM UPDATE: Christopher says three vehicles are involved and at least two people will be taken to the hospital. He adds, “SUV took out one of the columns at the drive-through.” 12:01 AM UPDATE: More info and another photo from Christopher. Police at the scene say alcohol may have factored into the crash. He adds: “The SUV took out one of the two columns holding up the roof that hangs over the Starbucks drive through. The column looked hollow so I’m not sure how much weight they are meant to bear. The roof is holding on the remaining column. SFD is there now shoring up temporarily with lumber.” In this photo, you see the column – and the spot where it was torn from the building:
As for traffic, one lane is blocked but it’s not causing much trouble. A different look at where the SUV tore the column away:
Christopher says there was no damage to the building besides that column area. Police were evaluating the light pole the SUV hit:
As for the store’s status, we’ll check on its status in the early morning. Police had called a manager who was reported to be en route. ADDED 2:43 AM: Video from Christopher – in it, you see the other vehicle that was hit – the third vehicle originally reported “involved,” as its driver notes in comments, was not actually part of the collision.
8:41 AM UPDATE: Went over to check on the morning-after situation. The drive-thru is closed, with repair work under way (and yellow tape across the lane entrance, leading to some U-turns in the lot); the walk-up is open.
1:12 PM NOTE: Christopher, who covered the crash early today, went by a little while ago and says the drive-thru appears to be open again.
(scroll down for updates, including new info from police added at 11:23 am)
(photo added 8:28 am)
ORIGINAL 8:14 AM REPORT: California is closed at Dakota, north of The Junction, because of an emergency response; tipster Alison says a pedestrian was hit – we are en route to find out more. 8:20 AM: Arriving on scene – the closure is from Genesee to Dakota. Clear signs of a police investigation, which appears to be centered on the west side of the street. 8:38 AM: Some info from police on the scene – a pedestrian was indeed hit and has been taken to Harborview Medical Center. Still sorting out the circumstances; the street will remain closed a while because they are waiting for collision investigators to arrive. 8:50 AM: More info from police at the scene: The victim is a woman who was crossing at the corner, though they haven’t figured out yet whether east to west or west to east. The car that was involved can be seen nearby, with visible front-end damage. We are checking with the Fire Department, whose crew took the victim to the hospital, to see if they have any idea regarding the seriousness of her injuries. 9:40 AM: The collision investigators have arrived (see photo below). Authorities still don’t have official information on how the victim is doing, though police tell us this particular investigation team usually is only called to incidents involving serious injuries (or worse). No ETA on the street reopening but we will keep checking – please share word if you are nearby and see it reopen, as you’ll probably notice it first.
10:53 AM: Thanks to Julie for first word that California has reopened at the scene. 11:23 AM: We now have the police’s official summary, as it stands, from SPD media unit Det. Mark Jamieson: Around quarter till 8, an 81-year-old woman driving a Saturn was headed south on California at Dakota when she hit a 53-year-old woman who was crossing, headed west. The victim was taken to Harborview with what police describe as “serious head and leg injuries.” Investigators interviewed the driver but have not arrested or cited her – whether any charges result from the crash will depend on further evaluation by investigators, which often takes months in cases like this. Det. Jamieson did say that after an evaluation of the driver, they do not believe alcohol or drugs were involved. 12:16 PM: The official police account is also up at SPDBlotter – same details we added an hour ago (the media unit writes SPDBlotter), with the addition of “failure to yield” as a potential factor.
ORIGINAL 2:09 PM REPORT: Thanks to the WSB’ers (including Bruce, who sent the top photo) who sent word of that rollover crash, which is the reason for the “heavy rescue” call in the 8600 block of 35th SW (south of Thistle; map). Avoid the area. 2:16 PM UPDATE: Here’s what we’ve found out at the scene – 1 person has been taken to the hospital. Two vehicles involved, as you see in the photo. No word yet on the circumstances. 35th is closed between Thistle and Trenton (the crash is closest to Cloverdale); side streets are closed in the blocks leading up to that area as well. 2:25 PM UPDATE: Police tell us at the scene that a few other cars may have been hit, but not as badly damaged – they are still trying to sort it all out – so don’t expect the scene to reopen quickly. 2:47 PM UPDATE: This WSB photo from Christopher Boffoli shows you how far north of the scene 35th is closed:
We have more information, too. The person who was hurt was in the flipped car and is not believed to have life-threatening injuries. That vehicle apparently didn’t see the gray vehicle, which was trying to make a left turn into a driveway on 35th, and they collided; three other cars were hit in the ensuing spinouts, though damage was not major and no one in those cars was hurt. As soon as the damaged vehicles are cleared, police tell us, the road will reopen, though there are a few things (like flattened tires) that are making for slower going in the tow effort. We’ll keep checking on the scene so we can update when everything’s open again. 3:25 PM UPDATE: 35th is clear and open again. Meantime, another photo from Christopher shows one of the other three vehicles that were hit:
4:09 PM UPDATE: Video from Christopher as the police and firefighters investigated and cleaned up:
And an ironic side note: One of the stations that responded to this crash, FS 32 in The Triangle, apparently had been training/practicing earlier in the day for this kind of situation – nearby resident Sharonn Meeks had noticed the activity and sent us a note even before the crash. The practice car was still at the station when Christopher went by afterward to check it out:
ADDED LATER: Our video of the flipped car being turned upright for towing. Not an easy job.
10:33 PM: Avoid The Bridge – there’s a multicar crash on the westbound side @ Admiral. 11:38 PM: The scene is said to start just west of Admiral, which is where drivers heading westbound were diverted. 12:44 AM UPDATE: The scene’s now clear, and traffic’s moving normally for the entire western stretch. No details on any injuries from the crash, but the emergency call didn’t progress beyond “motor vehicle accident” on the 911 log – suggesting no life-threatening injuries.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli, added 5:52 pm)
4:32 PM: Beach Drive is about to be blocked off both ways in the 4200 block because of a house-fire call. We’re on the way plus monitoring via scanner – more as we get it. The address has changed from the original report – it’s now 4213. 4:41 PM UPDATE: The call has “closed” on 911 – we’re just arriving in the area and will find out what happened. Road’s open.
Getting multiple reports – checking into it now. There are no serious-injury incidents on 911 anywhere in the area, and there’s nothing obvious on the scanner at the moment. 12:10 AM NOTE: Still haven’t had any luck nailing down an official account of this – afterhours contacts are inconsistent unless there is a MAJOR crime (and chopper/K-9 doesn’t necessarily portend “major,” no consolation if the search is in your neighborhood, of course) — comments and this WSB Forums thread have some pieces, though. SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen says the incident involved an “ex-boyfriend assaulting ex-girlfriend.” The suspect is in custody.
On our way to a “fire in building” call at 7313 Fauntleroy Way (map). 5:08 AM: According to the scanner, the building’s a triplex. Fauntleroy is blocked because of the fire response – that’s significant for traffic to and from the ferry dock, which will have to detour. Everyone is reported to have gotten out of the building OK. 5:21 AM: The fire is under control; it’s in the “void space” between the first and second floors of the building, confirms SFD spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen, who’s now at the scene and confirms everyone’s out OK, nobody hurt. We’re adding a cameraphone photo. 5:31 AM UPDATE: One firefighter suffered minor injuries and will be taken to the hospital. The fire’s now been declared “tapped.” 5:37 AM: Some of the units are pulling out. Not sure how much longer Fauntleroy will be blocked. By the way, if you’re hearing sirens near Alki, separate incident – a few crews are on the way to check out a report of light smoke and detectors going off in the 3400 block of 60th. (Update: “Nothing visible” when they got there.) 6:09 AM: Confirmed, no fire there. Back to the Fauntleroy fire, here’s video of the smoke we saw after arriving at the scene:
Via Facebook, Robert says traffic is starting to get through at the scene. We’ll be heading down the hill to check on that momentarily. 6:37 AM: Fauntleroy Way has officially reopened in both directions.
9:15 AM UPDATE: Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen says investigators have ruled the fire accidental due to overheated electrical wiring. Damage is put at $250,000. Here’s a picture taken at first light this morning.
1:21 PM: Here’s how SFD summarized the fire on its Fireline site.
If you’re seeing smoke near The Bridge – it’s a truck fire in the 3200 block of 16th SW on Harbor Island (map). Heavy black smoke, as you can see in the cameraphone photo we just received (thanks!). 11:59 AM UPDATE: Via Twitter, @brucecmoore says the smoke’s turned white, so firefighters are getting a handle on it fast. No report of injuries so far. Thanks also to everyone who’s e-mailed reports on this. 12:07 PM UPDATE: Zach sent photos from Pier 56 across the bay:
There are some traffic effects too – @romabit tweets that they’re stuck on Harbor Island. 12:57 PM UPDATE: We can confirm firsthand that at least one path off the island is still blocked by police – the fire scene is under an elevated ramp – here’s what’s left of the truck (the cab in particular was incinerated, but scanner traffic indicated the driver got out OK):
1:33 PM UPDATE: Thanks to Jesse Doerr for a clearer photo of the scene.
Jesse also reports:
Witnesses on the scene say that the truck collided with one of the supports of the overpass onto Harbor Island and caught fire. The driver got out safely and seems to only have minor injuries to his hand. Quite a big fire though, the flames were coming up under the road and visible on top shooting up around both sides.
Traffic on Harbor Island is just now loosening up, as police found a way to route around the fire-aftermath scene.
(cameraphone photo added 6:16 am)
ORIGINAL 5:55 AM REPORT: Big response to a house fire in the 4200 block of Beach Drive [map]. More shortly. 6:15 AM: Beach Drive is blocked off from La Rustica to Me Kwa Mooks because of the callout, which is – as noted in comments – at an under-construction home on the water side of Beach. 6:21 AM: The fire’s tapped. Fire Department spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick is there and confirms that nobody was inside at the time and that no one’s been hurt – the fire appears to have originated on the second floor; they’re trying to reach the building’s owner. 6:26 AM: Note that the Beach Drive closure is affecting the 37 bus – via Twitter, @crm4444 advises that it’s being rerouted up Jacobsen and, “Looks like 37 riders north of Jacobsen need to catch at 63rd/Admiral till fire action clears.” 6:59 AM: Adding video of ladder crew working once the flames were out. When our camera pans back to the truck, you can see why the entire road is closed at that spot:
No word yet on the cause. 7:06 AM: SFD spokesperson Fitzpatrick now says one firefighter suffered an arm injury and had to go to the hospital. 7:18 AM: Heading back to the scene for an update. Beach Drive is still closed at Weather Watch Park on the north side. 8 AM: Still closed both ways; incident commander at the scene tells us northbound Beach Dr should reopen within an hour, southbound (the side the burned house is on) will be a bit longer. No word on the cause yet; investigators are in the house now:
In the daylight, it’s clear that the new construction where the fire happened is actually a two-story add-on in front of the old house.
10:30 AM UPDATE: Investigators say this was an accidental fire – damage estimated at $250,000. SFD says they haven’t zeroed in on exactly what sparked it, but it’s clear it was not deliberately set, so that’s the ruling.
(photo added 9:45 pm)
ORIGINAL 8:42 PM REPORT (when the headline mentioned “heavy rescue call”): Scanner says it’s a report of a car over an embankment into a building at Avalon/Genesee (map). On our way to check. Meantime, scanner says first responders report “no injuries” but they’re checking on the status of the building and the car. 8:49 PM: En route for a firsthand look but in the meantime, police now think it was a parked car that rolled over an embankment. 9:04 PM: This is actually downhill from Avalon/Genesee, 4700 block of 30th SW. It’s a pickup truck that rolled into an apartment building. Doesn’t look so far like major damage to the building. Tow truck has arrived to pull the damaged vehicle away. 9:45 PM UPDATE: Adding photos; the pickup’s been towed up and away. The driver told us and a couple TV crews that his truck wouldn’t start, so he popped the hood to have a look, and thought he had the emergency brake on, but apparently not. The downslope apartment building, by the way, wasn’t damaged.
(photo substituted 7:32 am, this one’s by Christopher Boffoli)
We’re on our way to the “fire in single-family residence” call in the 4400 block of 45th SW (map). 7:05 AM: Per the scanner, the fire’s been “knocked down,” and firefighters are checking to make sure it didn’t spread. 7:10 AM: Firefighters have confirmed the fire’s tapped. Some of the units are pulling out. No report of injuries. 7:38 AM: Fire investigators haven’t arrived yet so we don’t have specifics on what burned or how it started, but the incident commander confirmed that no one was hurt and that damage was light enough that the home’s residents should be allowed back in later today. 8:11 AM: We’ll update here when that info comes in later. Meantime, here’s a bit of video from the scene.
10:14 AM UPDATE: According to Dana Vander Houwen from SFD, the fire was accidental, caused by faulty wiring in the attic. Damage is estimated at $40,000.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
ORIGINAL 8:55 AM REPORT: The stabbing happened in the 4500 block of Delridge. Scanner says the victim is a 17-year-old boy who’s about to be taken to Harborview. We have one person on the scene and another on the way, details as we get them. 9:10 AM UPDATE: Police tell us on the scene that this began as “a fight between two juveniles” – one is hurt, one is in custody. 10:06 AM UPDATE: We have confirmed that this happened at Southwest Youth and Family Services. We waited at the scene to talk with SWYFS executive director Steve Daschle. He says it happened in one of the classrooms at SWYFS – both boys attend classes in one of the programs there. One other student and teacher were present when it happened. Right now, Daschle says, the students are debriefing with counselors and staff; they are working to convey to them all that it’s a safe place to be. He says there is no indication this was gang-related or anything more than a disagreement between the two involved. SWYFS happens to be the lead agency in our area working on the city’s Youth Violence Prevention Initiative; Daschle acknowledges an incident like this is a setback, but promises they will work even harder toward their goals. 10:40 AM UPDATE: Just talked to Det. Mark Jamieson in SPD media unit – he says the victim was stabbed in the back and leg but the wounds were described as “not life-threatening.” Weapon was a “kitchen knife” and was recovered at the scene. Christopher’s video shows the sizable emergency response – which cleared fast once the situation was resolved:
(scroll down for latest updates)
(video added 8:31 pm – Fauntleroy/California intersection just before power returned)
FIRST REPORT at 6:46 PM: Power just went out here at WSB HQ in Upper Fauntleroy. Checking to find out the extent of the outage. So far: SW Austin on the north. On the south, we drove 35th and it came back on by the time we got to SW Henderson. Just called City Light, this isn’t on their outage hotline yet – calling the media number next. Via Twitter, we have a couple reports that Alki had a flicker but no outage. Meantime, one person in comments reports having trouble reporting this via the city outage number – we had the same problem.
7:05 PM UPDATE: Still no record of this on City Light’s line. This definitely seems to be a “south West Seattle” situation. Right now, we’re checking the Lincoln Park area – the 76 station and the tennis courts are out but the ferry dock has the power – south of the tennis courts, there’s power. Looks like the lights are on at The Kenney. In comments, Josh says he reached someone at SCL who says this is affecting 3,000 homes/businesses.
7:11 PM UPDATE: From the Seattle City Light media line – 2,756 “customers” (homes/businesses) without power, boundaries described as Findlay, Henderson, 34th, Puget Sound, no cause known yet, “estimated time of restoration” unknown. Co-publisher Patrick is on the road checking key spots in the area – he says the California/Fauntleroy light is out and businesses around that intersection appear to be out as well, at least on the Zeeks Pizza/Starbucks-Subway/Thriftway corners – he’s going into Thriftway shortly to check on the situation there. (update) They’re open for business, with the help of generators – here’s a photo:
Going east on Morgan from the Thriftway, Patrick reports that the outage is spotty – a few spots out, a few spots on. City Light’s online note is here (no info beyond what we have already reported). Again, The Junction and other points north, NOT affected by all accounts – and to the south, one commenter says Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor) and that section of Fauntleroy has power – so if you’re looking to go out to dinner, head in those directions. We’re heading out to check on Westwood Village. From Facebook, Lindsey offers words of warning and advice:
There’s power on raymond and fauntleroy. Stay away from 35th and morgan traffic light !! People’s tempers are getting ugly. People keep driving and not stopping on 35th ouch almost saw a accident
7:43 PM UPDATE: Westwood Village has its power on, no problem. Again, as Lindsey’s note above indicates, driving is a big problem right now, with major lights out of power including California/Fauntleroy, 35th/Morgan, 35th/Thistle. (added 9:22 pm, Christopher Boffoli‘s photo of Calif/Fauntleroy during the outage)
Still no updates so far on how long this will last or what caused it. It’s dark along Fauntleroy from Myrtle to California. Continuing reports of where the power is ON – Delridge and Highland Park report in as OK – so this does not seem to extend much past 35th.
7:53 PM UPDATE: Power just came back on to California/Fauntleroy intersection and surrounding businesses, per co-publisher Patrick. Not back on up here (California/Thistle, mile south) yet. (minutes later) He’s checking south now – the outage starts again at SW Austin and continues to about SW Trenton, again with irregular boundaries in some spots. (Sue via Facebook says she’s at 41st and Holly, where one side of the street is out, the other on!)
8:01 PM UPDATE: WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli has joined the outage-coverage team – he says Zeeks in Morgan Junction will reopen but since they had sent half their staff home, they will NOT be delivering for the rest of the night. He also just verified, Abbondanza in Morgan Junction has reopened. McDonald’s is open but Subway will remain closed for the night. (Added 9:09 pm, Christopher’s photo of Feedback Lounge [WSB sponsor], serving by candlelight before the power returned:)
8:08 PM UPDATE: Our power just returned at California/Thistle. It’s still out at the north Lincoln Park 76 station and nearby tennis courts, plus heading down the hill to Lowman Beach from there.
8:21 PM UPDATE: At Lowman Beach, Christopher reports a crew from King County has brought portable power to make sure the pump station there keeps running. (He took this photo, added at 9 pm:)
Just checked City Light’s media line again, still no new updates on the cause (or when the outage will be fully restored).
8:30 PM UPDATE: In comments, Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker says she has word from her mom at The Kenney that it’s operating on reduced power. Also, a comment from Gatewood says that while the power’s back, Comcast service isn’t fully restored for them (ours up the hill to the south is, fwiw). Meantime, we’re adding a video clip atop this story, from when the power went back on while we were rolling video on the then-dark intersection at California/Fauntleroy (note the flashing traffic lights at the end of the clip).
8:39 PM UPDATE: City Light says “underground cable failure” caused the outage and all should be restored by 9.
9:04 PM UPDATE: Still have scattered reports of powerlessness – DrD in comments says 6900 block of California; Andrea via Facebook says upper Lowman Beach.
9:24 PM UPDATE: Still out at the north Lincoln Park pocket too, as Kari notes in comments; co-publisher Patrick is back out roaming and spotted a City Light crew working on a pole across from the 76 station there.
9:35 PM UPDATE: Now that area is back, and upper Lowman Beach appears to be too, so unofficially it looks like the outage is ALL over – let us know if you are an exception. Meantime, Christopher put together a short clip including Morgan Junction during the outage, Lowman Beach pump truck, and Morgan Junction post-power-back:
(Photo added 9:54 pm)
ORIGINAL 9:45 PM REPORT: A crash described as car vs. pole — “heavy rescue” on the 911 log – is closing Barton at 30th (just west of Westwood Village – here’s a map), all lanes according to the scanner. The collision has cut power to part of the area, also per the scanner. 9:54 PM UPDATE: Just added a cameraphone photo. Fire/rescue crews are trying to get into the vehicle by cutting its top off – it’s on its side against the pole – we don’t know how many people are inside or what condition they are in. 10:08 PM UPDATE: Commenter Conrad has a different line of sight than our crew and says they’ve gotten the driver into an ambulance. 10:21 PM UPDATE: Our crew confirms one man’s been taken to the hospital; since it was by ambulance rather than SFD medic unit, that usually indicates injuries were not life-threatening. Power’s still out around the intersection. Seattle City Light has arrived. 10:38 PM UPDATE: Barton is partly reopened (and should be fully reopened shortly); the power’s back on; the wreckage will be cleared before long.
11:04 PM UPDATE: Lt. Ron Smith at the Southwest Precinct tells us the driver has a minor injury and that investigators are looking into the possibility of DUI, though, he confirms, the driver did indeed tell police (as Conrad reported in comments) he had swerved to avoid a dog.
WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli checked out the “heavy rescue” call in the 3200 block of Avalon; the call closed fairly quickly, meaning it wasn’t as serious as first feared – Christopher sent that photo and says nobody was hurt, adding this account of what happened: “A man drove his Ford Bronco off the back of the parking lot of an apartment complex at the corner of Avalon and Genesee. No one was injured. SPD told me that the man didn’t want them to call a tow truck but they insisted because the truck is on a very steep hill and they were not going to take the chance of having it roll over and slide down the hill farther.”
On our way to a single-family residence fire call at 42nd and Edmunds. More shortly. 7:03 PM: Closed fast but we’re continuing on to see what it was. (Footnote: Scene totally clear. We’re carrying on with tonight’s other coverage of three community meetings.)
Police and fire responding to 6400 block of California, which would be immediately north of Fauntleroy (map). We’ll be there in a minute. UPDATE: Police have just called off the fire/medic crews, saying “it’s NOT a shooting.” The 911 log call originally said “assault with weapons” but it has closed. 2ND UPDATE: Police are leaving. Here’s what happened: Two people were hanging out in the alley area near Zeeks, described to us as “transients,” and one started yelling about a shooting. Police determined no such thing had happened, though one of them had a “cut-up hand.” Case closed but we’ll leave this up in case you saw everyone rushing there and wondered what happened.
(scroll down for updates, more photos)
(video clip above by WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, added 10:17 am; cameraphone photo below by Patrick Sand, from our original 9 am-hour coverage)
ORIGINAL 9 AM REPORT: Big callout right now to 6339 34th SW (map), and at least one report of “a lot of smoke.” 9:05 AM UPDATE: We’re on scene and can see the smoke. Police are blocking traffic for blocks around the building. The fire’s on the 5th floor and crews are working to get everybody out – this is the big building run by the Housing Authority just east of the convenience store at 35th/Morgan. Co-publisher Patrick Sand is there and says smoke is pouring from one window on the 5th floor. He says medics are checking out at least three people for possible smoke inhalation. 9:14 PM UPDATE: In addition to the cameraphone pic we added above, here’s another view from WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli:
Cindi Barker from the Morgan Community Association — who lives a few blocks west — reports the traffic closure includes 35th/Morgan. SFD spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen is there and says the fire’s tapped.
9:22 AM UPDATE: Note that you also cannot get into Walgreen’s on 35th, just west of the fire scene, because its parking lot is being used as a staging area for some of the many crews that responded to this fire at the building (Stewart Manor). Cindi says crews also have been using hydrants from the other side (west side) of 35th.
9:34 AM UPDATE: Buses are being rerouted too. Fire crews are being rotated, as you can hear on the scanner – take a look at the online 911 log to see how many units responded. Crews are sweeping inside the building to check for damage – we just heard one report that the 4th floor, beneath the fire, “has no smoke or water damage.” Stewart Manor has 72 units, according to this SHA webpage.
9:41 AM UPDATE: SFD’s Vander Houwen just talked with us. She says 12 people in all are being treated for potential smoke inhalation. One was taken to Harborview Medical Center because of previous respiratory problems. The fire was in one unit on the fifth floor, no word on the cause so far; everyone’s out of the building and the sweep will determine if it’s safe for some to go back in.
9:56 AM UPDATE: Police have just reopened 35th SW to traffic in both directions. We just got an update at the scene from SFD’s Vander Houwen – investigators have not yet determined the cause; the fire was in one unit, on the east side of the 5th floor, with some smoke/water damage to an adjacent unit. Floors 1-3 have been cleared for people to go back in. More of the fire units are about to be cleared from the scene, but some will be there all day continuing to check air quality in the building. Adding more photos — WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli took this one of someone being evacuated down a fire-truck ladder:
10:08 AM UPDATE: Bill Bacon at One Community Commons (kitty corner from Stewart Manor) took this photo – as you can see from the smoke, this was before the fire was out:
The smoke-inhalation cases are the only injuries that SFD has reported – nobody wound up jumping or getting hurt in other ways – you’ll see more of the fire crews’ evacuation work in video that we will have back at HQ shortly.
10:29 AM UPDATE: Added Christopher’s video at the very top of the story. Also received another photo from nearby resident Bill – this woman, who identified herself as Grace, had just been brought out of the building at this moment:
He also photographed medics checking evacuees out in the triage area they’d set up:
10:57 AM UPDATE: Update from SFD’s Vander Houwen – two people have gone to Harborview for “minor smoke inhalation,” both by private ambulance. The other 10 people who got medic attention did not need to go to the hospital. Still no cause or damage estimate yet. She says the one person you see being brought down a ladder is the only one who had to be evacuated that way – everybody else was brought out by the stairs. Here’s a view we haven’t shown you yet – part of the massive response – this clip was taken looking all the way around from a spot on Morgan at 34th:
11:26 AM UPDATE: Morgan also has just reopened, per Nuni in comments.
11:59 AM UPDATE: Here’s video of the entire 4-minute briefing that SFD spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen gave at the scene:
ADDED 12:19 PM: As you heard her say in that video, one main task for the firefighters was making sure everybody got out safely, especially considering there are elderly and medically challenged residents in the building, as you can see in these additional photos from WSB contributing photojournalists – first from Christopher Boffoli, second from Matt Durham:
Again, no major injuries were reported. Matt (who has worked as a newspaper photojournalist and also currently works as a firefighter in a department outside Seattle) also reported that three-year Stewart Manor resident Michael E. Searcy, shown in the photo above, told him the hallways were dark as they evacuated: “We don’t have any emergency lighting when the power goes out. … There are no sprinklers; they say our building is grandfathered.” We will follow up on this with the Housing Authority. Meantime, the latest post-fire update from Vander Houwen – three patients are now reported to have gone to Harborview for “minor smoke inhalation.”
1:56 PM UPDATE: As Mookie notes in comments, SFD has announced the cause on Twitter:
Fire at 34th and Morgan ruled accidental – caused by resident heating shoe polish with hand held flame which spread to the bed. Damage $175k.
3:08 PM UPDATE: Seattle Times (WSB partner) talked with a resident of the unit, who explained what was happening with said shoe polish – here’s their story.
(Photo by Tony Bradley)
ORIGINAL 8:31 PM REPORT: We have arrived in the area of a house fire call on SW Manning. It is alongside the bridge by Luna Park businesses. (map) More shortly. 8:39 PM UPDATE: It’s a house up the Manning hill north of the bridge. No sign of flames or smoke now but still an active scene. We are hearing here at the scene that one room caught fire, extinguished quickly, no injuries reported so far. 8:57 PM UPDATE: We are still on the scene. Incident commanders tell us they don’t know yet how it started. A neighbor who was first to see the smoke tells us the homeowner has been remodeling but wasn’t home when this started. An animal control worker has just safely caught a dog that ran off during the fire chaos. (iPhone pic added 9:25, dog in foreground as it ran past us toward the officer)
Several witnesses tell us the fire was primarily in the back of the house. The neighbor who first saw the smoke told us he ran up to bang on the doors and windows and make sure nobody was inside. He says the homeowner’s been working on largely do-it-yourself remodeling for a long time. The street’s narrowness and steepness made it a tough squeeze for all the crews that responded – some had to park down the hill in a dirt clearing along the street that runs between Admiral/Manning and Avalon – and a few more waited down by the Luna Park businesses in case they were needed.
(scroll down for newest info; adding fire cause/damage, 4:54 pm update)
(photo substituted 2:06 pm – courtesy Tony Bradley)
ORIGINAL 1:15 PM REPORT: WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli is on the scene and reports lots of smoke. The callout’s in the 5200 block of 45th SW (map). 1:31 PM UPDATE: This fire isn’t out yet. It’s a single-family house, according to property records. Our second person has just arrived at the scene and is reporting lots of smoke, still. Police are stopping westbound traffic in that direction from California or 44th. Sounds like cross-street will be Dawson. 1:38 PM UPDATE: Big story at the scene – firefighters working in this record heat. Paramedics are checking them out; co-publisher Patrick Sand reports there’s ice and water everywhere, some firefighters are being hosed down as they rotate through the scene. House has a big hole in the roof now, cut by firefighters to ventilate the fire, and smoke is still coming out. Patrick just talked to one of the two people who were home at the time – the resident says nobody in the house was hurt, both got out OK, and they have no idea how the fire started. Meantime, here’s a photo sent to us by the folks at the Coast Guard station on the downtown waterfront – at one point you could see the smoke from all the way over there:
1:53 PM UPDATE: Crews on the scene tell us this is all part of the special hot-weather procedure, including extra crews brought in so the first crews on the scene can be relieved before working too long in the heavy suits and high temperatures. Also, the fire is not yet tapped – smoke still visible and firefighters are still in the house in full gear. Here’s a cameraphone photo of one getting checked out outside:
Listening to the scanner from WSB HQ, we can also hear the logistical planning that SFD leaders are doing to rotate crews in and out because of the weather. 2:07 PM UPDATE: Adding photos from Tony Bradley, who was on the scene moments after firefighters. We also have spoken with an incident commander who tells us that while a police officer and firefighter were both checked out for possible dehydration earlier, both are OK. The fire is still not completely “tapped.”
We’ve also talked again with one of the residents, who says they’re trying to figure out where they’re going to go, but they have to stay at the scene for now to wait to talk with fire investigators. 2:24 PM UPDATE: Adding photos from Christopher Boffoli, including the firefighters coping with the heat:
2:41 PM UPDATE: One update from Fire Department spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick – one of the house’s occupants has decided to go to the hospital for treatment, after discovering some burns. Adding more of Christopher’s photos:
And also this video by co-publisher Patrick:
4:54 PM UPDATE: According to SFD’s Fitzpatrick, the fire was accidental – ashes from a barbecue ignited the deck, and spread to the house. Damage is estimated at $150,000. The resident who went to the hospital for burn treatment is the only official injury related to the fire.
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