The construction site where the fire is believed to have started and the neighboring house where the flames spread (Image: CHS)

The work to document the scene and identify the cause of a massive fire that destroyed a 20th Ave E home under construction and mostly gutted a neighboring house has not been completed pending efforts to make the site safe for a full investigation, Seattle Fire tells CHS.

Neighbors awoke early Saturday morning just after 4 AM to a 40-foot wall of flame mid-block on 20th Ave E between Highland and Prospect where the framing of an under-construction rebuild of a single-family home turned into an incredible bonfire shooting sparks into clouds of smoke and sending frisbee-size blocks of ash dropping through the neighborhood.

The fight shifts to the southern house (Image: CHS)

Sparks fly as the flames burst through the roof of the southern house (Image: CHS)

Firefighters arrived within minutes of the first 911 call to find the construction site fully engulfed and surrounding houses beginning to succumb to the flames and heat. Firefighters were unable to stop the fire from spreading to the 1911-built home directly south of the construction site. After a nearly two hour fight against the fires on the block, the construction site’s beams were a total loss and the house to the south was severely damaged.

Investigators have not yet determined what sparked the initial fire which started at the under-construction property before its spread.

As a massive contingent of Seattle Fire trucks filled the streets and alleys in the area around the fire, the response of the firefighters was hindered by a period of water pressure problems starting around 4:30 AM involving hydrants near the fire scene just as the firefight was shifting from a focus on the construction site to saving the neighboring house. Crews scrambled to reestablish a strong water supply by attaching to hydrants farther away on 19th Ave, according to Seattle Fire radio dispatches.

By just after 4:50 AM, water service from closer to the scene was restored. Discussion of the water issues involving firefighter units and commanders can be heard in recordings of radio dispatches from the morning collected by CHS. By then, the battle to bring the fire under control would play out for another hour.

A spokesperson for Seattle Public Utilities said that hydrants are inspected annually.

The construction site was not occupied and the two residents of the neighboring house were able to get out without injury. We don’t know yet if the couple’s renowned collection of African art survived the flames. There were no reports of any serious injuries to firefighters involved in the response. The construction project is listed in DPD records as “additions and alterations to existing single residence.” Neighbors said the construction had been an active work site.

The stretch of 20th Ave E where the fire occurred has been fenced off and access was restricted due to the danger of collapse. A Seattle Fire spokesperson could not say when the site would be safe enough to complete the investigation.