Fire at water treatment plant that shot 60 feet underground has been put out

Firefighters put out an underground fire at the Brightwater Treatment Plant near Woodinville Tuesday.

Two workers were treated by medics, but should be fine.

Snohomish County Regional Fire and Rescue (SRFR) said employees were fusing plastic piping Tuesday when a fire started and flames shot, 60 feet down the pipes.

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SRFR wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “fire crews were able to get control of the fire once the 15 tech rescue firefighters trained in confined space arrived.” The post on X called out South County Fire, the Bothell Fire Department, Eastside Fire & Rescue, Woodinville Fire & Rescue, the Everett Fire Department  and Sky Valley Fire for the assist.

Late Tuesday, a King County spokesman specified in a statement to KIRO Newsradio and in a news release that a contractor was fusing the plastic pipes at the time of the incident and not an employee of the county.

In a separate X post, SRFR wrote the facility is still in operations and there were no injuries to firefighters.

As the county noted in its release, Brightwater Treatment Plant is located north of Woodinville, just across the Snohomish County line. “It supports King County’s regional treatment system by letting operators shift flows from South Treatment Plant in Renton and West Point Treatment Plant near Discovery Park in Seattle,” the release states.

Fire crews were able to get control of the fire once the 15 tech rescue firefighters trained in confined space arrived. 2 Alarm Com fire/3 alarm tech rescue. Assist @SouthSnoFire @BothellFire @EastsideFire @WoodinvilleFire @EverettFire @skyvalleyfire SCFD4 pic.twitter.com/AsJxV5iU2g

— Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue (@SnoRegionalFire) August 15, 2023

Contributing: Steve Coogan, Frank Sumrall