SEATTLE — The Seattle Fire Department responded to a 2-alarm fire in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Thursday morning.
Seattle Fire received multiple reports of the fire around 4:30 a.m. at the Eng Suey Family Plaza, located at 815 South Weller Street.
The three-story Eng Suey Family Plaza houses several businesses, including a bakery, a chiropractor office, and a travel agency.
The bakery was one aspect that created challenges for fire crews, because flour is highly combustible, and the fire quickly spread, according to Seattle Fire spokesperson David Cuerpo
"We had well involved flames coming out of second and third floor," Cuerpo said.
Black smoke from the fire could be seen from Capitol Hill and around the Seattle area.
Around 5:30 a.m., all residents and businesses near the area were asked to close their windows and doors to prevent smoke inhalation.
Cuerpo said once fire crews got inside the building they saw the second floor was about to collapse so they pulled everyone outside and switched to defensive mode.
Once crews got the fire under control, they began conducting a sweep of the building to check if anyone was inside during the fire.
Cuerpo said at the scene Thursday morning that the fire was "under high suspicion" given the circumstances. However, Seattle fire tweeted that after hearing from witnesses, investigators are no longer considering the fire suspicious at this time.
No injuries were reported so far. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Seattle Fire has responded to a string of fires in South Seattle since Monday.
There have been at least eight fires in South Seattle and the Central District that were set to debris or in dumpsters. Three of those fires were set at or close to construction sites.
Fire officials urged business owners to lock their businesses, garage areas and dumpsters, clean up debris and consider installing security cameras and fencing.
