Fire on Lake Union
It's happened again: A Lake Union fire has directly threatened the lives and property of Seattle's houseboat community. With eerie deja vu, Lake Union's southernmost houseboat dock, adjacent to NOAA, and most threatened by the NOAA fire just a year ago, was again engulfed in smoke, but this time from one of its own. The afternoon of June 22, aboard Bill Bloxom's second-from-the-end houseboat, an antiquated, longforgotten, and worn-thin 48 volt telephone cable finally gave way to 60 years of log-tossed chafing, heating the 10 gauge copper wire to its 1,984 degrees F melting point. Arcing of the still-live circuit overheated the adjacent structure under the houseboat flooring resulting in another multi-alarm fire spreading smoke, fear, and evacuation pandemonium throughout the nearby Fairview houseboat community. The bitterest "yet again" pill was the response time of the fire boat. A Police Harbor Patrol boat arrived just minutes after the 911 call. The Fire Department boat also arrived in minutes; FORTY minutes that is, much to the probable frustration of the brave firefighters trying to connect up to the nearest hydrant hundreds of yards away. Bloxom will likely rebuild. Now our public safety confidence must be rebuilt as well.
There is hope. Fire Chief Gregory Dean recently stated publicly his intent to place a STAFFED fireboat inside the locks. Next is to see that it gets located nearby where it can respond as quickly as the Police boat, to our under-protected houseboat community.
Stay tuned. - Giff Jones
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The Seattle Fire Department on land quickly responded with their
engine trucks and took over from the Police Boat to bring the fire
under control. They are shown here venting the fire out the roof as
smoke billows everywhere. The Police Boat and neighbors watered down
nearby houseboats to keep the fire from spreading.
Photo by Rick Miner
Seattle Fire Department Dock Training
The Seattle Fire Department has offered to conduct training on your dock in prevention and hands on use of your equipment. To make group arrangements,contact Helen Fitzpatrick at the SFD Public Information Office, (206) 386-1463 or email helen.fitzpatrick@seattle.gov