Green Lake’s Fire Station 16 (6846 Oswego Place NE) will be holding a dedication and open house on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Attendees will be able to tour the newly-renovated 1927 fire station and meet Engine 16′s fire fighters. Children’s activities and refreshments will be provided.

The event is jointly sponsored by the Seattle Fire Department and Seattle Fire Fighters Union, Local 27.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2012.

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Post tags: construction, fire

There was a house fire this evening (Thursday, August 4, 2011) at 5508 Ashworth Ave N.

14 emergency response units were called to the scene at 8:34 p.m.

By 9:15 p.m., the fire was out. “It appears that the fire started on an outside wall and moved up to the attic,” Chief Lomax of the Seattle Fire Department said. “We had to cut away part of the roof.”

Chief Lomax said that there were no injuries.

As of 9:25 p.m., traffic was still blocked from driving on Ashworth Ave N and Woodlawn Ave N at N 55th St.

Fire trucks on N 55th St at Woodlawn Ave N

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Landscaping at the site has grown a bit unruly since the Seattle Fire Department’s Engine 16 moved to a temporary location in the John Marshall High School parking lot (520 NE Ravenna Blvd) last month.

Station 16, 6846 Oswego Place NE

Engine 16's temporary location on NE Ravenna Blvd

Christina Faine, Fire Levy Communications Officer at the Seattle Department of Financial and Administrative Services, says that a construction fence will be going up around the property sometime next week, and renovation work will begin on Monday (June 13, 2011).  Any grass not surrounded by the fence will be cut and maintained.

The renovation is expected to be complete in December 2011. When the project is done, Engine 16 will return to its permanent location on Oswego Place NE.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Photo courtesy PhinneyWood

The fire was called in shortly before 5 p.m. and firefighters quickly put it out, according to our news partner PhinneyWood.

“The home’s occupants were not home at the time,” reports PhinneyWood, “but they did come running around the corner at about 5:35 p.m., and were relieved when firefighters told them their dog was safe at a neighbor’s house. They told firefighters they also had a cat, but they didn’t know if it was inside at the time of the fire.”

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: fire, phinney

This week’s photo, by Daniela Dombrowski of The Murphy & Dombrowski Real Estate Group, was taken on April 23, 2011.

We love this shot because it features two hallmarks of the Green Lake neighborhood: the Greenlake Bar & Grill (7200 E Green Lake Drive N) and Seattle Fire Department’s Engine 16, which is being temporarily housed in the John Marshall High School parking lot while Fire Station 16 is renovated.

You can read a history of the Greenlake Bar & Grill here and you can review our past articles about Engine 16 (and recent neighborhood fires it has been dispatched to) here.

Thank you, Daniela!

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: fire, photography

A fire gutted Unit 1110 at Green Lake Plaza (505 NE 70th St, near southbound I-5) earlier today (Thursday, May 12, 2011). Smoke billowed out of the apartment’s windows and could be seen from as far away Phinney Ridge and Roosevelt.

Laura Morris, 57, who lives in the affected unit, told me that she suspected the fire was caused by a cigarette she left in an ashtray next to her bed. “I thought I stamped it out,” she said, “but I guess it wasn’t out.”

The Seattle Fire Department, however, attributes the fire to “combustibles placed against baseboard heater.”

After leaving her apartment earlier in the day, Laura arrived home just after 1 p.m to see black smoke billowing out around the frame of the unit’s front door. She opened the door, grabbed her dog Midnight, and ran with him down eleven flights of stairs to safety.

“My medicine is inside,” Laura said, as a neighbor offered her comfort. “I don’t even have a leash for Midnight,” she added, “and my poetry must be all gone.”

The Seattle Fire Department was called to the scene at 1:09 p.m.

Lt. Stangl from the Seattle Fire Department said that Green Lake’s Engine 16 was able to assess the serious nature of the fire very quickly, thanks in part to their nearby location. The station moved to a temporary site in John Marshall High School parking lot (520 NE Ravenna Blvd) last week.

Fire fighters from Engine 16 called for backups immediately, according to Lt. Stangl. Multiple emergency response units were dispatched to the scene for an hour and half after the initial call.

The fire was contained to Unit 1110. Lt. Sangl confirmed that there were no injuries, but said that there was smoke damage to the entire eleventh floor.

Seattle Housing Authority, which operates the building, reports that that damage to the building is estimated at $55,000. An estimated $5,000 of damage was done to the contents of as many as ten affected units.

Katherine Boury, Seattle Red Cross Media Relations Officer, says that the Red Cross will be providing free assistance “to at least one family, which could include shelter, food, clothing and other immediate needs.”

Green Lake Plaza was the scene of a fatality fire in February 2010. Reports at the time cited a cigarette as the cause of that fire. You can read more about the 2010 fire here.

Virginia Felton, Communications Director for the Seattle Housing Authority, says that residents have practiced fire drills and received fire education since last year’s fire.

The Seattle Housing Authority is currently drafting policies that would make Green Lake Plaza smoke-free.

Smoke billows out of Unit 1110.

Water streams out of the window as fire fighters battle the blaze.

Water rained down eleven floors below.

Laura Morris and her dog Midnight, residents of burned out apartment.

Deborah Horne and Frank Metz of KIRO 7 interview Laura and Midnight's neighbor.

Debris on the ground following fire at Green Lake Plaza.

Fire fighter surveys damage.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Photo courtesy Erica Grivas

The Seattle Fire Department responded to a fire alarm today (Tuesday, April 26, 2011) at Daniel Bagley Elementary School (7821 Stone Ave N).

Two units (Engine 16 and Ladder 5) were called to the school at 3:30 p.m., the school’s regular pick-up time.

“Students who had been dismissed out the main entrance were called back to line up in the play yard, according to usual fire drill procedure,” Bagley parent Erica Grivas reports. ”I don’t know the cause of the alarm, but there were no outward signs of smoke.”

No additional units were sent to the scene and the incident is now closed, according to the Seattle Fire Department Real-Time 911 Dispatch.

Photo courtesy Erica Grivas

Update, Thursday April 28, 2011: Anitra Pinchback-Jones, Principal of Daniel Bagley Elementary, reports that Tuesday’s fire alarm was due a defective smoke detector.

“All is well now,” Principal Pinchback-Jones told Erica Grivas. “The fire department and Seattle Public Schools have partnered to update our systems.”

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: daniel bagley elementary, fire, schools

Recently, several ”no parking” signs appeared on NE 68th St between Weedin Place NE and Oswego Place NE, a residential area adjacent to the parking lot behind the John Marshall High School.

This is only a temporary change, according to a letter Joe Hampton of the Seattle Department of Financial and Administrative Services sent to nearby residents. The street needs to be kept clear of parked cars in order to accommodate fire engines from Fire Station 16.

Station 16 will soon be temporarily moving to the John Marshall High School parking lot (520 NE Ravenna Blvd). The station’s permanent home at 6846 Oswego Place NE was built in 1927 and is getting an upgrade. You can see renovation plans here.

Construction is projected to last until the beginning of 2012, when the station will return to its permanent location on Oswego Place NE.

In the meantime, the Seattle Department of Transportation will offset the parking impacts by temporarily allowing parking across the street from Fire Station 16′s original location at 6846 Oswego Place NE.

Thanks for the tip, William.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: fire, traffic

Fire Station 16 open house, Feb. 12, 2011

In April 2011, Green Lake’s Fire Station 16 (6846 Oswego Place NE) will be temporarily moving to the John Marshall High School parking lot (520 NE Ravenna Blvd).

Fire Station 16, which was built in 1927, is getting an upgrade. The building will get a fresh coat of paint, seismic retrofits are being done, and new bathrooms and workout facilities for the fire fighters are being installed.

Construction is projected to last until the beginning of 2012, when the station will return to its permanent location on Oswego Place NE.

Several upgrades are also being planned in order to improve the station’s operations. Most significantly, the garage doors are being replaced. The current garage doors, I learned yesterday (Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011) at Station 16′s open house, are a tight fit for modern fire trucks. Extra response time is frequently added to emergency calls when fire engines have to maneuver out of the station.

The renovation is being done using funds from the Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy, which was approved by 69% of Seattle voters in 2003.

Renovation plans, as well as details concerning the station’s temporary location, were made available by the City of Seattle and Hoshide Williams Architects at Fire Station 16′s open house in June.  You can see the plans here.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: construction, fire

Green Lake's Fire Station 16

Seattle’s 17th annual Neighbor Appreciation Day, billed as “a special day to reach out to neighbors, create new bonds and express thanks to those who help make your neighborhood a great place to live,” will be next Saturday (Feb. 12, 2011). Community organizations and residents across Seattle are hosting work parties, special events, and potlucks. (You can read more about the day here.)

Seattle fire stations, including Green Lake’s Fire Station 16 (6846 Oswego Place NE), will be celebrating Neighbor Appreciation Day by opening their doors to the public.  Tours will be offered 11 a.m. through 2 p.m.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: building community, fire, kids