Renton fire investigators are considering a report from the owners of Harrington Square Apartments that roofers were laying a hot-tar roof on the building Tuesday, the same day that a four-alarm fire gutted the structure.
However, the possibility that roofing work caused the fire is just one of many possibilities the investigators are considering as a cause, Fire Chief I. David Daniels said Wednesday.
“That is what we are doing right now, trying to confirm or deny that,” said Daniels of the roofing scenario. Roofers use a hot flame to lay down the roofing material.
City spokesman Kelley Balcomb-Bartok said the roofing crews finished work for the day at 3:30 p.m. and as is required stayed for an hour to ensure nothing caught fire. The fire started at about 8 p.m.
Daniels also raised the possibility that the city could call in the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which, among other things, investigates possible arsons.
Fire investigators are like police, Daniels said. They’ll listen to a story, but will let the facts determine whether the story is correct, he said – especially if something “doesn’t look right and doesn’t pass the smell test.”
He’s considering calling in the federal bureau “because we are concerned about some other things,” he said. He wouldn’t be specific.
Investigators may still have a cause today, but more likely by the end of the day Thursday, he said.
The spectacular four-alarm fire – visible for miles – Tuesday night destroyed one of two major buildings of Harrington Square, a complex of upscale apartments designed to help revitalize the Highlands area centered on Harrington Avenue and Sunset Boulevard.
Harrington Square is just now leasing apartments; no one was in the complex at the time of the fire. The complex, under construction at 950 Harrington Ave., has about 200 units.
The fire occurred in the southern of the two buildings, nearest to Highlands Elementary School. Also heavily damaged was a commercial building next to the apartment complex.
No firefighters were injured fighting the fire, which was reported at 8 p.m. Fire crews from throughout South King County and Eastside and Seattle units responded to the mutual aid call.
Firefighters evacuated the residents of nearby homes; many were able to return home before midnight.
The city had spent about $1.5 million to updgrade the water main on Sunset Boulevard just so it could fight such a fire at the complex.
It was a night reminiscent of the evening of June 11 when a five-alarm fire destroyed a nearly century-old building on Wells Avenue in downtown Renton.
The fire drew a huge crowd of onlookers, who breathed in the potentially toxic smoke from the fire. Some onlookers wore face masks.
Renton fire crews arrived to find lots of smoke, but little flame from the five-story building. That soon changed, according to Chief Daniels.
Explosions rocked the wood-frame building, possibly caused by propane tanks, Daniels said Tuesday night. The face of the building erupted into flames, visible for miles, along with a column of smoke.
“That was as big a thermal column as I have seen in 28 years,” said Daniels, who could see the column of heat and smoke as he responded to the fire from downtown Renton. Such thermal columns are capable of creating their own weather patterns, he said, and help carry away the smoke. As the night wore on and the building and night air cooled, the smoke and its stench settled on the crowd and fire crews.
Firefighters immediately took a defensive position to keep the fire from spreading beyond the one building, Daniels said. Some hot spots were reported away from the building.
It took fire crews about 90 minutes to bring the fire under control; then with aerial trucks, crews poured water on hot spots. They expected to be at the scene overnight to battle flareups.
The investigation into the cause of the fire could take two days, Daniels said, if not more. Likely, the city will have to use heavy equipment to remove debris from the building so that investigators can safely search the building for clues to the fire’s cause.
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