(The Center Square) – A major fire at a $3.9 million tiny home village in Seattle resulted in damage to 25 of the tiny homes.
Around 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, the Seattle Fire Department responded to 911 calls reporting a fire in the Bridge Shelter tiny home village in the Interbay neighborhood. The site is operated by the Catholic Community Services of Western Washington.
Firefighters on scene reported multiple homes were on fire and worked quickly to evacuate the entire facility, including a larger building used as a shelter, as a safety precaution.
According to the Seattle Fire Department, the fire was under control by 3:09 a.m. and was fully extinguished by 4:27 a.m. No injuries were reported.
The fire spread to a total of 17 tiny homes and eight other adjacent units were in close in proximity to the fire. Bridge Shelter managers coordinated with the King County Metro Transit Department to rehouse the displaced residents. The Center Square reached out to the organization to inquire where residents are being moved to, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Police officers took one person into custody, but fire investigators determined that the fire was accidental and was likely caused by improperly discarded smoking materials.
The shelter in the Interbay neighborhood cost approximately $3.9 million to build, according to a King County press release from 2020. This included $3.1 million in costs associated with design, build and transport.
Operating costs for the site are estimated at $2 million per year.
Catholic Community Services of Western Washington is the highest funded nonprofit by the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, which serves as the organization responsible for coordinating funding and services for unhoused people on behalf of Seattle, King County and a few smaller cities in the region.
The nonprofit was awarded $19.7 million by KCRHA this year.
The Bridge Shelter Program allows residents to come and go 24 hours a day as desired and bring their partners, pets and possessions. Services include shelter, hygiene, food, secure storage, and case management services.
King County Executive Dow Constantine’s Office told The Center Square that all structures were deemed up to code before the permit to operate the village was given to KCRHA.
“We are devastated to know that our community members were upended in the middle of the night, but are pleased to know that nobody was physically injured in this incident,” King County Executive Office Press Secretary Amy Enbysk emailed The Center Square.
Constantine’s office confirmed all the residents have been moved to new places, but added that it will take a bit longer to figure out coverage for the losses and who is responsible for what costs.
There are at least five stakeholder agencies: KCRHA and Catholic Community Services externally, and internally the Department of Community and Human Services, Facilities Management Division, and Wastewater Treatment Division.
“Our risk management office has been in contact with all of these stakeholders today and will be working on a recovery plan in the coming days,” Enbysk ended.
