Crime & Safety

Smoldering Wood Causes Fire at Condominium

Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland fire fighters responded to the blaze at the Sixty-01 condominium building in Redmond.

Firefighters responded Friday afternoon to a fire caused by smoldering wood that was left unattended inside a condominium.

Jim Bove, spokesman for the , said firefighters responded at around 3:30 p.m. to a ground-floor unit at the Sixty-01 condominiums, located at 6001 140th Ave. NE. No one was in the unit at the time, and there were no injuries, Bove said.

Deputy Fire Marshall Jim Underwood said the fire was caused by wood that had been taken out of the fireplace and put into a box elsewhere in the unit. The fire spread out the bottom of the box to the floor and into a crawl space below the unit, Underwood said.

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He said the incident is a reminder that residents should never leave used firewood indoors or anywhere near a structure.

“It should be outside in a noncombustible area,” Underwood said. “It’s hard to tell that fire embers are completely out, even days after a fire”

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The response included five engines, one ladder, one aid car and two command vehicles from Redmond, Kirkland and Bellevue fire departments. The blaze was extinguished within about 15 minutes, Underwood said.

Darsi Fouillade, a Patch blogger who lives in the Sixty-01 complex, said burn damage is not visible from outside the building.

“None of the walls burnt through or anything,” she said.

Fouillade said a maintenance worker was the first to notice the fire and call 911.

Residents in nearby units were evacuated during the blaze, and some experienced smoke damage, Underwood said. He said the unit where the fire started is uninhabitable and will remain so for at least a month.


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