(Photo courtesy of Mac Jahn from the My Ballard Group)
Updated: Firefighters were called just before 11 last night for a fire in an abandoned, boarded-up building along 15th Ave. near 80th St.
The building was surrounded by chain-link fence, forcing firefighters to cut their way in to access the fire. Low water pressure in the area also complicated efforts to fight the fire, KIRO TV reported.
“The structure began to collapse, and four additional engines and one ladder truck were added to the response,” Seattle Fire explained this morning. “Due to extreme fire damage, fire investigators were unable to determine the cause of the fire.”
One firefighter sustained minor injuries. Crews were on scene for several hours to douse hot spots.
The location is 8015 15th Ave. NW, the former home of several small businesses. Two abandoned homes next door were also fenced-off by the city after squatters were reported inside, according to KIRO TV. The building was scheduled for demolition this week, Seattle Fire said.
According to city planning documents, there’s a proposal (.pdf) to build 9 townhomes at the same location as the fire. Here’s the proposed design:
This the second fire in an abandoned home in Ballard in just over a week. On November 26th, a fire burned a vacant house on 63rd near 15th Ave.
And also last night, firefighters contended with fire in a vacant home in the 8500 block of Ashworth Ave., north of Greenwood.
“Abandoned buildings pose a significant risk to responding emergency personnel,” Seattle Fire wrote in a blog post this morning. “Seattle Fire has specific procedures for combating vacant building fires, including fighting the fire from outside the structure.”
(This story was reported as it happened in the My Ballard Facebook Group.)