Today, January 19th, around 12:30p, Seattle Fire responded to a fire in an already burnt-out apartment building, located at 2nd Ave NW, where Leary Way & N 36th St merge. Due to the emergency response, METRO rerouted service off this portion of roadway for more than half-an-hour.
The building had never been repaired following a significant fire, where one resident died and another was injured, in November 2014. According to an unidentified fire fighter, there was another fire since then. Today’s fire took place on the upper floor, which also suffered in the original event. At this time, no official news about injuries or deaths today has been reported by the Seattle Fire Department, although reports of significant numbers of used needles, graffiti and signs of vagrancy were given unofficially.
Before the original fire, the building had been occupied by low-income tenants. According to a neighbor, the building sold to a housing developer in June 2016. It is to be hoped that this latest damage will speed up any plans the new owners have for demolition of the structure, and possible construction of more housing, particularly for the low income tenants forced to relocate after the original fire in 2014.