SEATTLE — Neighbors in Seattle's Mount Baker neighborhood woke up to flames and sirens on Tuesday morning after a fire tore through an abandoned home.
The fire happened near 24th and Holgate. People living nearby said the house has seen a number of problems recently and they can't get anyone to do anything about it.
"The first thing I heard was my dog barking it's because I think the windows were exploding," said Ian Wesley-Smith, a neighbor near the abandoned home.
Neighbors worried that the intense flames would spread.
"I was scared it was going to spread further than the house," said Asha Hopton, another neighbor near the home. "I had never been that close to a fire before."
The fire was a bigger problem that could have been prevented, according to neighbors.
Home security video obtained by KING 5 showed someone leaving through the front door of the house with a bike. Seconds later the house was engulfed by smoke and flames.
Neighbors said developers bought the property last year and have not been maintaining it.
"We called the developers twice in the past week and a half to have them come secure the house, filed a complaint with the city," Wesley-Smith said. "This is all very frustrating that this happened. It didn't have to happen."
According to the city of Seattle, the most recent complaint was filed last Friday. The complaint said that "(the) property has no power, I am concerned that the squatters might accidentally start a fire trying to stay warm."
"Definitely raises a concern about the area and the safety of the neighbors," Hopton said.
The Seattle Fire Department said no one was injured in the fore. There is no criminal investigation into the Seattle Police Department.
"I wish they'd take responsibility for their actions," Wesley-Smith said. "They were negligent, right? Someone could have died. Someone may have, we don't know if anyone was in the house yet. But people next door could have died too."
We reached out multiple times to the developer listed on Seattle's Department of Construction and Inspections website. No one has answered the phone.