SEATTLE — Seattle fire crews battled a two-alarm fire at a vacant building in Greenwood as it spread to neighboring buildings Saturday night.
"We live right over there and saw the smoke coming up," said 14-year-old James Cook, who lives near where the fire happened. "So we kind of went outside to see and there were like 15 fire trucks or something and there was a huge smoke cloud coming from the building."
Seattle Fire Department crews responded to the one-story vacant building in the 300 block of NW 85th Street, just after 11 p.m. Arriving units reported this fire was still active and spreading to adjacent buildings to the north and east.
The incident was upgraded to a two-alarm fire for additional resources. The Seattle Fire Department said eight fire engines, five ladder trucks and additional support units totaling 80 firefighters were dispatched at the height of the incident.
"It looked like they were trying to keep it from spreading to the apartment building and maybe the gas station," Cook said.
The roof of the primary building began to collapse and firefighters had to withdraw. Firefighters continued to battle the fire and by 12:30 a.m. the response lowered to a few units to rotate overnight to monitor for flare-ups.
Seattle fire said no injuries were reported. The fire is under investigation.
In addition to the buildings that suffered fire damage, a neighboring apartment building suffered water damage from runoff.
James's father, John, said the lot with vacant buildings had been a known problem spot in the neighborhood.
"A lot of drugs, needles, trash," said John Cook, who lives in the neighborhood. "I advised my son not to walk on this side of the street right here on 85th. It's been a problem area for months if not years. I would hope the city could do something about it because it's been a persistent problem for as long as we've lived there."
He said not only is it a safety issue with the drug use, but it was also the same lot where a standoff happened in August after a man was threatening a woman with a gun.
"We drove past it and they had like all the weapons aimed at the building and that was pretty scary," James Cook said.
John Cook said he hopes that the city will take some action with this lot and hopes the recent change of members on the Seattle City Council can help make neighborhoods like Greenwood safer.
"I think there could be a better use for the property than a drug den," John Cook said. "So, yes, it would probably be good to have it raised and removed and hopefully get this part of the city cleaned up. Obviously, these are very complex and challenging issues and I hope we're on the right track as a community because we can't have situations like this erupting every six months where there's fires, and drugs, and standoffs. That needs to be taken care of."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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