UPDATE 9:55am
Seattle Fire has determined the cause of the fire in the early morning hours in a residence in the 8400 block of 20th Ave. S.W.

Kyle Moore of SFD wrote:

"A Seattle Fire Investigator determined an early morning West Seattle house fire was caused by a space heater placed too close to furniture.

At 12:52 a.m. a 911 call came into fire dispatcher at the Fire Alarm Center reporting smoke from a house located in the 8400 block of 20th Avenue SW. When Engine Company 11 arrived on scene they found a room on fire in the backside of a 1-story home. Neighbors informed firefighters that the occupants were not home at the time of the fire. Firefighters knocked down the fire by shooting water through an exterior window. The flames had extended into two back bedrooms and a back bathroom of the house. The fire also extended into the roof.

It took firefighters nearly 20 minutes to control the fire and nearly 50 minutes to completely extinguish the flames.

The damage estimate is $25,000 to the contents and $100,000 to the structure."

Original post at 8am

A fire in the rear of a home in the 8400 block of 20th Ave. S.W. did heavy damage, destroying all contents in the back of the house and causing smoke damage to other parts of the home.

The fire began after midnight and Seattle Fire crews arrived on the scene shortly before 1 am to find the building belching smoke. It burned through several rooms, destroying the contents completely.

Deputy Chief B.W. Hastings on the scene said, "We managed to get it under control pretty quickly."

There was no one home at the time of the fire and the next door neighbor said "He travels a lot and told me if he's gone, then business is good."

The cause of the fire and the damage estimate are not known at this time.