3-alarm warehouse fire in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood destroys building, leaves firefighter injured
Large commercial warehouse fire in Seattle
Seattle fire crews battled a large warehouse fire Thursday afternoon in the Ballard neighborhood.
SEATTLE - A large commercial fire at a warehouse in the Ballard and Fremont area sent smoke billowing into the surrounding neighborhoods Thursday afternoon.
What we know:
The building at Northwest 42nd Street and 9th Avenue Northwest was on fire during the busy afternoon commute.
"My co-worker was calling 911, and it wasn’t long after that the fire was growing and growing and growing," said Jones.
Rick Jones was working about a half a block away at his worksite when the massive warehouse went up in flames nearby.
"Very intense, a lot of heat, smoke started going, we started backing up out of the way, we didn’t want to get hurt or anything," said Jones.
He watched as the windows blew out, and the roof collapsed, capturing ideo of the fire on his cell phone.
"The place has been there for 100 years, all glass, old timber, old concrete. It just got hot really quick and didn’t take long for it to go up in flames," said Jones.
Things exploded in the building as the fire was raging. He believes that some of the equipment housed in the warehouse may have been blown up in the heat and flames.
"A lot of plumbing equipment, water heaters," said Jones.
Seattle fire crews say after firefighters got there, they upgraded to a three-alarm fire, so they were able to pull in more help from across the city.
"The wind was making it really challenging, causing the fire to spread quickly," said Kaila Lafferty, Public Information Officer with the Seattle Fire Department.
Seattle Fire did send in a boat to help fight the fire from the Ship Canal so they could also pull water from there.
"We saw a lot of smoke coming through. We thought it was like a big cloud I guess," said Dillon Grose, a neighbor.
"It’s pretty crazy, pretty crazy stuff. I hope everyone is safe," said Jake Lin, a neighbor.
One firefighter received a minor injury and was checked out by their aid crews. Lafferty says people in the area did the right thing by calling 911 and trying to get crews to the scene as soon as possible.
"It’s just kind of sad, you know. You see these old buildings. They get frail, fragile, and it can put people out of work," said Jones.
What we don't know:
The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Seattle Fire Department and original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
MORE NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE
Bellevue 'OnlyFans house' suspect charged with human trafficking
Human remains found in Chelan County, WA identified as woman missing since 1986
Phone-free WA schools? Governor Ferguson eyes new legislative priority
13-year-old-boy arrested in deadly shooting of Seattle teen
Report: Billionaire sports owner shows interest in Seattle Seahawks sale
Here's where to watch World Cup games at all hours in Seattle
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.