SEATTLE — A vacant building fire in Seattle left one woman dead and three others injured early Tuesday morning.
Fire crews responded to the building at Roosevelt Way Northeast and Northeast 63rd Street just before 4 a.m. The building formerly had apartments, but was supposed to be vacant.
The owner of the building spoke with KING 5 at the scene, and said a fire in May that left a single unit damaged led to the building being condemned by the city. He said no one was supposed to be inside.
The Seattle Fire Department shared an update on social media Tuesday morning that one of the victims who was in critical condition, an adult woman, was declared dead at the scene. One other victim is in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center, while two others were treated at the scene and did not require further care, Seattle Fire said.
Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell introduced legislation in April that would allow the city to more easily order complete demolition or remediation of unsafe vacant buildings.
Vacant building fires in Seattle have been on the rise over the last few years. There were 77 vacant building fires in 2021, 91 in 2022, and 130 in 2023. There were 30 vacant building fires in 2024 as of April 15, according to city data in a release. Vacant building fires require a large number of resources from the Seattle Fire Department and put firefighters' lives at risk, according to Fire Chief Harold Scoggins. Three people died in vacant building fires in 2023.