About 40 residents of a West Hill apartment complex were sheltered at the Renton Community Center Thanksgiving morning after a three-alarm fire destroyed a unit in the complex, according to King County Fire District 20 (Skyway Fire).
No one was injured in the fire.
Heavy smoke and flames were coming from a third-story unit of the Greentree Apartment Homes, 6901 S. 123rd St., Building D, at 2:28 a.m. Thanksgiving morning when fire crews arrived, according to Dave Nelson, a fire disrict spokesman.
Eventually, nearly 55 fire personnel were on scene of the fire, including units from Renton, Tukwila, Seatac, Kent, Mountain View Fire and Rescue, King County Medic One, Zone 3 Fire Explorers and King County Sheriffs Office Fire Investigation Unit.
Quick actions by firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to other units, according to Nelson. One unit is completely destroyed, another has heavy fire and smoke damage. Two units have water damage and three units have smoke damage.
All 16 units of the “D” building have had their power and water shutoff for safety, according to Nelson. An estimated 30 to 45 were displaced; however the Seattle Red Cross and the City of Renton had opened the Renton Community Center as a shelter location for those displaced by the fire.
The Sheriff’s Office was continuing to investigate the fire; an investigator indicated the cause was not suspicious in nature at this time, according to Nelson, who added investigators were waiting to talk with a resident.
Due to the age of the building fire sprinklers and an automatic fire alarm system are not required, according to Nelson. People woke up to other people pounding on the door to alert them to the fire.
