Neighbors: Squatters kept breaking into house before South Seattle fire
Apr 19, 2016, 1:56 PM
Smoke was seen for miles from a house engulfed in flames on South Donovan Street in South Seattle on Tuesday afternoon.
Fire crews were on scene at 16th Avenue and Donovan Street in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood next to the Duwamish River.
The house previously caught fire on Aug. 17, 2015. That fire, which caused $55,000 damage, was caused by transient activity.
“Due to the dangerous building status, firefighters launched a defensive attack, fighting the fire from the outside of the building to avoid exposing firefighters to any unnecessary risks,” Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore said in a statement at the time. “Due to fire damage to the home, a collapse zone was created around the immediately exterior of the house. The flames extended from the attic space down to the second floor of the home. Crews used multiple hose lines and two ladder pipes capable of dumping 1,000 gallons a minute each on the fire. At 9:27 a.m. the fire was extinguished or tapped.”
The roof and second floor of the home, built in 1900 before South Park was part of Seattle, collapsed. Waist-deep combustibles were piled up throughout the home, Moore said.
Neighbors say the house caught on fire last August- say squatters keep breaking in. @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/uiwRGsASJF
— Alison Grande (@AlisonKIRO7) April 19, 2016
South Park residents want it to burn to the ground. They say transients used it as a drug house.
On social media, users tell KIRO 7 News that they can see the smoke from downtown Seattle and Bellevue.
.@KIRO7Seattle Facebook users say smoke from South #Seattle fire can be seen from downtown. https://t.co/SxlHZuOGof pic.twitter.com/K8sKev46VW
— KIRO 7 (@KIRO7Seattle) April 19, 2016
KIRO 7 News has calls into Seattle Fire Department with questions about any possible injuries.
