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The Seattle City Council has unanimously passed legislation that would allow the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) to “swiftly order the demolition or remediation of unsafe vacant buildings that pose risks to public safety,” according to a press release issued by the legislative body.
“The inability to demolish these hazards has contributed to a permissive environment where government stands by as predictable accidents and crimes occur,” says Councilmember Bob Kettle, one of two co-sponsors of the legislation.
Adds Kettle, “Today, the council took decisive action to change that. This legislation will substantially address the issue of dangerous vacant buildings. We owe it to our brave firefighters and our neighbors to take a proactive approach so they don’t have to endanger their lives to put out fires at vacant buildings.”
According to Seattle city council, there were 77 vacant building fire incidents in 2021, 91 in 2022, and 130 fires in 2023. In the first three and a half months of 2024 there were 30 fires in derelict structures. In 2023, three people lost their lives in fires that “started in vacant, dangerous buildings,” says city council.
The morning the legislation passed, a fire in a vacant apartment building in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood killed one person and injured three others, according to the council.
Remarks Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, the bill’s other co-sponsor, “Fires in derelict buildings have become a dangerous hazard across the city. [In] 2022 and 2023 there were over 60 fires between Yesler Terrace and Rainier Beach, and someone tragically lost their life,” she says of vacant property incidents in her council district.
“This legislation marks a turning point,” continues Morales. “I’m heartened that we passed this bill, as it’s something that I’ve been working on for over a year in partnership with the Seattle Fire Department, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections and the City Attorney’s office. Thank you to Councilmember Kettle, the mayor and my colleagues for supporting this critical, life-saving bill.”
One recent Seattle incident involved a three-alarm blaze at a vacant apartment building that required more than 100 firefighters to contain it. That fire displaced residents in a neighboring building and shut down a road for several weeks.
The bill passed includes three main aspects: it amends the Seattle Fire Code to allow the SFD to order remediation or complete demolition of derelict buildings; it requires property owners to pay for necessary work to make dangerous buildings or sites safe; and, in what council calls extreme cases, authorizes the city to conduct needed abatement work to improve the safety of a site and place liens on properties to recover costs.
SFD says it has identified more than 40 vacant buildings potentially targeted by the legislation, all of which have had at least one fire. Funding included with the legislation is anticipated to allow SFD to address four of those buildings later this year.
Now that the bill has been passed, it heads to the mayor’s desk and, because of an emergency clause, will take effect immediately if signed by Mayor Bruce Harrell.
