SEATTLE — A fire in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood destroyed a vacant building and sent a massive plume of smoke overhead Friday.
The Seattle Fire Department was alerted to the fire around 6:15 a.m. The fire fully engulfed the two-story vacant building in the 14000 block of Lake City Way. When firefighters arrived, the department said flames extended out of the roof.
Crews took a defensive position and poured water from a safe distance, according to Seattle Fire. They prioritized protecting adjacent buildings and preventing falling debris from causing structural damage.
Firefighters were not allowed to enter the building due to concerns it would collapse. Within an hour of arriving, Seattle Fire said the building's roof started to collapse followed by the eastern wall.
Nearby residents were advised to close doors and windows to prevent smoke inhalation.
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) was called to the scene due to the risk of flooding nearby businesses and homes due to water runoff. Neighbors told Seattle Fire that storm drains were being overwhelmed. SPU helped mitigate pooling water and diverted runoff.
The building was already slated for demolition, according to Seattle Fire. The department said it's working with the property owner to expedite an excavator to demolish the building because the remaining walls are at risk of collapsing onto streets and walkways.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
No injuries were reported.
'Almost inevitable'
The owner of the building told KING 5 that he has tried to board up, padlock and install barbed wire to keep people from breaking in.
Monday was the last time he said he called police when they learned people were starting fires in the building. He cleaned everything up, padlocked the doors and receives the phone call on Friday that his building was burning down.
“There’s no more structure holding it up, it’s only a matter of time,” said Ian McGlynn, who has watched this building sit abandoned for years.
“Almost inevitable. It’s been vacant for so long that it’s almost inevitable that something like this would happen,” said McGlynn who owns the sheet metal shop Fast Flashings down the road.
“Look at the amount of water, that’s insane. That’s so much water,” said McGlynn.
That water flooded into his businesses that he closed Friday because the machines can’t run until the water is cleared.
But his isn’t the only business impacted.
“You know, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are our busiest days of the week,” said Jay Hosn, the owner of Goodies Mediterranean Market. Hosn had to let some of his employees go for the day, “People called this morning, they cannot get in, they can’t get in. At least with one side open, that will help.”