Fire damaged the second floor of the building that is home to the Capitol Hill Alano Club at the corner of 19th Ave and Madison early Tuesday morning.
According to the incident commander at the scene, the fire was limited to a room on the second floor of the commercial building. He said an investigation to determine the cause was underway. UPDATE: SPD says this was a break-in and an an arson. Details below.
A police officer at the scene told CHS that the fire was first spotted just after 2:30 AM when an SPD officer on patrol noticed smoke rising from the multi-story building at 19th and Madison.
Streets around the area were closed during the multiple-unit SFD response that quickly brought the fire quickly under control.
The Alano Club struggled with its finances last summer and turned to the community in a last-minute effort to raise $15,000 to continue operating. The group's organizers told CHS the successful fundraising effort would allow them to support more than 60 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings around the Hill each week.
On Monday, CHS reported on a new development plan for Mt. Zion Baptist Church across the street from the Alano building. Meanwhile, on the northwest corner of the same intersection, construction of a six-story, mixed-use development is underway. The 1970 wood-framed building is owned by Loren and Ruth Chotzen, according to King County Records.
8:46AM -
UPDATE - SFD spokesperson Susan Stangl: "With the help of the automatic sprinkler system, the firefighters put the fire out in less than 15 minutes. Amount loss $75,000.00 The fire is still under investigation."
11:34AM -
UPDATE - Police believe the fire was arson. From the
SPD Blotter:
On March 22nd, at approximately 2:40 AM, an East Precinct officer was driving in the 1900 Block of East Madison Street when he observed smoke coming from the second floor of a building and heard the fire alarm ringing. He called for a response from Seattle Fire and requested other units to assist with traffic control.
After the fire scene was stabilized by SFD, investigators informed officers that they had discovered burglary tools and signs of arson inside the building. They also noted that it appeared that several safes inside the building had been forced opened. Detectives from the Arson/Bomb Squad responded to the scene. It does not appear that there was significant damage to the structure, and the building was closed at the time of the fire. ABS detectives will continue the investigation.
