UPDATE: Fire destroys Lumberyard bar, Rat City Tattoo, Boxing gym and more in White Center
UPDATE: Fire destroys Lumberyard bar, Rat City Tattoo, Boxing gym and more in White Center
Cause was accidental and began in Lumberyard basement though exact cause remains unknown; GoFundMe pages are up and collecting donations for the affected businesses
Fire crews from around the area fought the fire in the Lumberyard Bar and Rat City Tattoo that broke out in the early morning hours of July 5 in White Center.
Photo courtesy of Seattle Fire Department
Tue, 07/06/2021
Update:
According to King County Fire District #2 the fire that destroyed businesses in White Center was not started by fireworks, despite heavy activity in the White Center area. It began in the basement of the Lumberyard Bar, though the exact cause has not yet been determined.
King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott came to see the damage done to the businesses in the afternoon. Constantine said, "Last night's fire in White Center is another hurdle for our small businesses - just as they set out on the path to recovery from COVID. We'll be doing everything we can to help with grants and assistance to bounce back yet again and support our local community."
Community members are rallying around the Lumberyard with a new GoFundMe page hoping to raise $25,000 to help the owners offset their losses. The page has quickly raised nearly $100,000.
A new Boba Tea business that was preparing to open just north of these busineses was also badly damaged and it too has a GoFundMe page here. They've raised $7,741 as of Tuesday morning.
Dotties Double Wide bar and restaurant has new owners and were set to open on July 16. The previous bartender at Dotties, Sole and his partner bought the bar last week so this has put them in a very tough position. Their GoFundMe is here. So far they are at $1,630 of their $30,000 goal.
The employees of these various businesses also need support at this time and a completely separate GoFundMe page is set up for them here.
Original Post
A fire that was called in around 1:41 am ripped through the Lumberyard Bar and Rat City Tattoo on 16th SW in White Center. The Boxing Gym just next to these businesses suffered damage as well. No cause was announced but fireworks have not been ruled out.
Fire crews arrived to find the buildings fully engulfed but could not enter the structures and had to use ladders to spray water from above to fight the flames.
White Center was the scene of hundreds of personal fireworks displays from Top Hat through the whole White Center business district as people took advantage of the warm temperatures and the fact that this was the last year before a fireworks ban takes effect in King County.
Personal fireworks are already banned in the City of Seattle.
While no injuries were reported, the businesses are so damaged they cannot open.
The fire was responded to very quickly since as it happened a fire engine was only a block away when they got the call. Crews from Seattle and North Highline and Skyway responded to the blaze.
The building is owned by Chung & Do investments LLC. It was built in 1918 and the businesses inside it use electric space heaters for warmth when needed.
Firefighters spray water to put down the fire that destroyed the Lumberyard Bar and Rat City Tattoo in White Center. Photo courtesy Skyway Fire
Makes me so sad 😢 I grew up here. It might not be the same White Center I grew up in but it's still my hometown. Prayers for the owners of the businesses effected ✝️
This is effing insane. Blame lies with every single person who went ahead and set off fireworks yesterday despite fire chiefs begging them not to, for the sake of a boom and a few seconds of flash. Now a place that brought so much joy to thousands of people is just wiped out from someone's moment of reckless, stupid pyromania. Of course I don't know for a fact that fireworks started this. Unfortunately, there are worse explanations. Either way, not a good look for White Center.
Guess they idiots made the final case on why personal fireworks need to be banned. Sad these businesses had to suffer for it. People were launching Roman candles into 16th Ave while cars driving others blantantly letting off fireworks in Westwood parking lot.
Such a sad, sad loss. I wouldn't be surprised if fireworks were the cause. If so, banning them is good in theory, but so many people don't care about rules and laws. I'm so grateful for an amazing and generous community that steps up and helps by the awesome crowd funding.
Waldo, there were some weird legal requirements dye to the type of legislation. Skinny version, there was an initial delay where it couldn't be voted on in 2020 because it wasn't allowed to be done in a virtual meeting. Then, again because of the way things work, there is a legal requirement to wait 1 year between passing in 2021 and implementation.
So sad my buddy works at rat city tattoo I just saw him Saturday. A bunch of Idiots who probably weren't being smart just ruined a bunch of people's jobs including my buddies.😪😪🖕🖕🖕
Hey people SFD has said the fire started in the basement of lumberyard not from fireworks. So chill on the blame game. Stop assuming and look for facts.
Hi everyone, I was at the roller rink at the time this fire started. I'm hesitant to write because I don't care to be a part of this thread very much, however I do feel bad for everyone involved losing their businesses. It was not fireworks and it was not accidental. It was an arson. My friends and I saw four men dressed in camouflage outfits. We didn't want to confront those guys because they were armed. I know in all of your fantasies the last thing this was, was a hate crime. But that's what it was. Perhaps lgbtq are not as welcome as you all might think. The new white center can't simply cover up the old one. I think there are many who despised that bar.
The fire department had its quickest response time but even so the building was destroyed. This was hardly fireworks. These guys were pros. In case you don't believe me, you can go behind the skating rink building. There's an area the fence was cut open with. We saw them do it. Don't believe the hype. Fireworks didn't do this and this wasn't an electrical fire. I'm saying nothing more because I don't care if the gay people lost their bar. But I have to be honest with what I saw. I hope no one was hurt that's all.
I promise you nobody was using any kind of electric space heaters, it was hot as f with alll the people. If they were using electric space heaters, they were intentionally faulty
Makes me so sad 😢 I grew up here. It might not be the same White Center I grew up in but it's still my hometown. Prayers for the owners of the businesses effected ✝️