Overnight fire at Italian eatery Cafe Da Pino (UPDATES)

February 10, 2012 by 3 Comments

Seattle Fire Department units responded to a call at Cafe Da Pino (2207 NE 65th St) just after 2 AM.

Details are few at this time, but KING 5 News’ overnight photographer, James S, said (via Twitter) that there was a small fire in the wall, and that no flames were visible outside the restaurant.

The building the small Italian eatery is located in also contains Vitality Pilates and Thrive Art School.

We will have more details about the fire and damage later in the morning, and will post updates here.

UPDATE (9:31 AM): Picture of the building taken at 8:30 AM shows minimal damage to the exterior of the building. Vitality Pilates at the west end of the building (out of the picture) appeared to be open.

Picture of building that houses Cafe Da Pino, taken the morning after the fire.

UPDATE (10:17 AM): We have details now about the fire from the Seattle Fire Department’s Kyle Moore.

Someone driving by around 2 AM called 911 after seeing flames coming from a wall of the restaurant. After forcibly entering the building, fire fighters encountered lots of smoke, but no flames or heat. They determined the cause was faulty knob and tube wiring in a wall, which had been smoldering for some time. The fire was cut out of the wall. There were no injuries, and the damage is estimated at $20,000 (primarily smoke damage).

UPDATE (12:29 PM): Q13 FOX has story up about the Cafe Da Pino fire, which includes a picture of where fire fighters had to forcibly enter the restaurant (the east side of the building).

UPDATE (3:14 PM): The Seattle Fire Department’s Fire Line site has some photos of this morning’s action.

Click the photo above to read "Electrical Wiring caused Fire at Ravenna Italian Restaurant" on Fire Line

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Bryant house fire quickly tapped, no one injured (UPDATES)

February 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A sharp-eyed neighbor called 911 after noticing a nearby two-story house (on the 6500 block of 37th Avenue NE) emitting smoke from the attic.

Twenty minutes later, responding Seattle Fire Department staff had the fire tapped. The fire had started in the kitchen of the home and spread upstairs to the attic, said the Seattle Fire Department’s Kyle Moore.

No one was home at the time of the fire.

UPDATE (1:05 PM): Seattle Red Cross is “assisting two adults and three children affected by the fire” (via Twitter).

UPDATE (3:19 PM): Some more details and fire safety tips from SFD PIO Kyle Moore (via email):

The cause was accidental. The homeowner accidentally activated the electric stove top with combustibles stored on top of the stove. Those combustibles ignited causing extensive damage to the kitchen and smoke damage to a majority of the house. A Seattle Fire Investigator estimates the damage at 50 thousand dollars to the structure and 20 thousand to the contents.
…
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) says cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries. Here are some safety tips from NFPA:

  • Be alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol don’t use the stove or stovetop
  • Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
  • If you are simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
  • Keep anything that can catch fire—oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains—away from your stovetop.
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Rollover accident in parking lot at University Village traps driver in car

November 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Over a dozen Seattle Fire Department units responded to a two car injury accident at the southern entrance to University Village (2746 NE 45th St) this afternoon.

Here are the details, from the Seattle Fire Department’s Fire Line:

Seattle Fire Department Paramedics transported a female driver in her 50’s to Harborview Medical Center after being rescued out of her car.

The female patient was pulling out of the QFC parking lot when she lost control of her Honda minivan and drove over a barricade and slammed into the back of a parked car causing her minivan to roll on its side.

Firefighters from Ladder Company 7 used saws and other tools to cut the woman out of her minivan. The female patient was breathing, conscious and alert. Medics transported her to Harborview Medical Center with minor injuries.

Seattle Police Department Officers are investigating the cause of the accident.

Jonah Spangenthal-Lee at Publicola happened to get a picture of the accident from “[o]ur fave tipster Silver,” and shared it via his old Seattle Crime twitter feed:

The west-bound curb lane of NE 45th St was blocked for around 45 minutes.

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New Fire Station Open House TODAY, 11AM-1PM

March 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It’s time to give the staff at Fire Station 38 a warm welcome to their new digs. (Well, not TOO warm.)

New Fire Station 38 (4004 NE 55th St.) will open its doors to the public today from 11AM-1PM for an Open House and Dedication.

From the Seattle Fire Department’s event calendar:

Take tours of the new fire station, view the fire engine, meet your local firefighters and learn about fire safety in multiple languages. Children’s activities will be planned throughout the day, as well as chances to win life-saving door prizes. Refreshments provided by Local 27 and Top Pot Doughnuts.

An architect from Schreiber Starling & Lane Architects may also be there to answer questions about the design of the building.

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For more information about the Old Fire Station 38 and her fate, visit our earlier post here.

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More pictures from Thursday night’s house fire

March 5, 2011 by 2 Comments

A neighbor across the street from the house fire in north Ravenna on Thursday night has shared some pictures he took from that evening (click on the pictures for a larger version):

Thank you to neighbor and picture-taker John and Four and 20 Blackbirds’ Wendy for sending these pictures on.

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No injuries in last night’s house fire in north Ravenna (UPDATE)

March 4, 2011 by 4 Comments

The Seattle Fire Department responded to a house fire on the 7300 block of 23rd Avenue NE at around 10:40 PM on Thursday evening.

No one was injured in the fire.

The cause of the fire is as yet undetermined, but I will update this story when I have more information.

UPDATE (8:29 AM): I’ve heard back from Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick (via email):

The house fire at 7340 23rd Avenue Northeast was an accidental fire caused by a malfunctioning heater in a bedroom. There were no injuries. The estimated damage to the home and contents is $250,000.

North Seattle KOMO has a story up which includes a picture of the fire fighters in action last night.

View of the rear of the house, taken from the alley

As I arrived at the house this morning to take pictures, Engine 40 and her staff were on scene, watching the house.

Fire department staff will stay on scene until the cause of the fire has been determined. This is to both ensure that the building stays secure (“continuity of evidence” in case of an arson finding), and to make sure that the fire does not rekindle.

As I write this, there have already been three fire watch shift changes.

North side of the house

Fourteen fire department vehicles were dispatched to the house last night, which is considered to be a typical response for an incident like this one. The “extra” staff is on hand to provide support to those who are actively fighting the fire.

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Tour Old Station 38 on Saturday, tour New Station 38 in March

February 10, 2011 by 2 Comments

Fire stations all over the city of Seattle will open their doors to their neighborhoods this Saturday, February 12, from 11am-2pm, as a part of the Seattle Department of Neighborhood’s 17th Annual Neighbor Appreciation Day. There will also be activities for the kids, face painting, refreshments and a free raffle. The Seattle Fire Department and the Firefighter’s Union, Local 27 will be co-sponsoring the event.

This will be our neighborhood’s last chance to visit Fire Station 38 (5503 33rd Ave NE) while it houses fire fighters: Staff will start moving in to the new station down the hill (4004 NE 55th St) next week.

And what will become of the old station? I got the 911 411 from Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman, Helen Fitzpatrick:

[H]ere is the information I received from the City’s Department of Finance and Administrative Services. The City intends to sell the old station most likely through a competitive bid process.  The prospective buyer will need to be aware that the building has historical protection and the zoning is limited to multi-family use (this can also be for a single residence as well).  Any use outside of what is allowed through zoning would need the okay from the City’s Department of Planning and Development.  Any alterations to the outside of the building would require an okay from the Landmarks Preservation Committee.  Any alterations that could change the character of the building, specifically the front façade and the hose tower would be prohibited.

As we noted in an earlier post, a 2009 appraisal of the property came in at just over a million dollars. However, a competitive bidding process could make the old station more affordable. Money from the sale of the property will go back into the Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy fund (which made the upgrading of Station 38 possible).

Fire Station 38 is one of 22 landmark status properties and/or objects in Northeast Seattle (full list here), and was nominated and granted this status in 2004. If you have the time, I would encourage you to read the full Seattle Fire Station No. 38 Landmark Nomination Report (pdf; 26 pages!). It is CHOCK full of history, not only of the station itself, but our entire area.

Now, walk down the street (to the east) with me…

View Old and New Fire Station 38 in a larger map

As I mentioned above, the new Station 38 will start the move-in process next week. And after the staff has had some time to move in and get acquainted with the new building, the public will have a chance to do the same. (Well, not the move in part.)

Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 12, 11am-2pm 1pm, when Seattle Fire Department staff (and the new station’s architect, whom I met on the property today, by happy coincidence) will be on hand to welcome the public to their new fire station give us a tour. A postcard invitation in the mail in the next several weeks.

WHEE-OO-WHEE-OO!

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A photo tour of the new Fire Station 38

February 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The new Fire Station 38 (4004 NE 55th Street) is nearly ready. In my last email with Helen Fitzpatrick, spokeswoman of the Seattle Fire Department, a tentative move-in date in early February was given.

And once the firefighters move in and get settled, there will be an OPEN HOUSE.

Before doing a little grocery shopping across the street on Sunday, a took a few pictures of the station’s exterior and interior.

Starting on the south side of the station: Two bays for fire department vehicles (Engine 38 +1), the doors of which face NE 55th Street.

View straight up from ground level of the red corrugated metal siding on the south side of the station.

View inside the doors. I believe I can safely say, though I did not have my tape measure with me, that the old Station 38 could fit inside the new station’s vehicle bay.

The “front door” of the new station, at the southwest corner. There is a doorbell, and the red box conceals a telephone. This entry can be reached via stairs (railing visible) or by a ramp (to the right, out of the frame of the picture).

The flag pole near the entrance is already sporting an American flag.

On the west side of the station now (the 40th Avenue NE side). Looks as though the plants adjacent to the station are watered by rain collected from the roof and west side of the building.

Close up of the gutter at the base of the wall (catches water running down the side of the building) and the pipe (bringing runoff down from the roof) which both empty into a V-shaped cement structure (which allows the water to seep into the surrounding soil).

Oregon grape planted in the NE 4oth Avenue parking strip seems happy to be here.

North side of the station. It looks as though Engine 38 can come back from a call and drive straight into the station, no blocking traffic on NE 55th Street to back in.

This concludes our tour! Stay tuned to the Ravenna Blog for more information on Fire Station 38 (old and new).

The tricked-out grill of Engine 38 thanks you for your time.

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A little new Fire Station 38 background:

Seattle P-I reporter Casey McNerthney did a story on the ground breaking and the impetus of the new station back in September 2009 (“Chief, mayor break ground for new fire station“).

And the fate of little old Station 38 (5503 33rd Avenue NE), once it’s empty? The city is expected to sell it. For how much? Well, McNerthney’s article states that the property was appraised at just over a million dollars*, according to King County property records in 2009. Save your pennies!

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*I think this figure dashes any plans that former Ravenna resident now Camano Island blogger Jeff and I had for buying the old firehouse and turning it into a little neigborhood pub called the Ravenna Hole.

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