According to SFD, the flames were limited to a small room within the large greenhouse. Swanson’s Nursery President, Brian Damron, said that the main areas that were destroyed aside from the seminar room, was a storage area and a utility room.
A fire broke out at Swanson’s Nursery in the early morning hours of Monday August 22, and Seattle Firefighters were quick to respond and extinguish the blaze.
According to the Ballard News-Tribune’s news partner, Q-13 Fox, a Seattle Fire Department representative said flames damaged a portion of a greenhouse at the nursery, which is located on the 9700 block of 15th Avenue N.W.
Q-13 reported: “Fire broke through the glass of the greenhouse,” said Deputy Chief Tom Walsh. “It was extinguished pretty quickly. I would say about 15 minutes.”
Swanson’s reported that a concerned neighbor tipped off SFD for a quick response.
According to SFD, the flames were limited to a small room within the large greenhouse. Their crews had to get to the flames through the back of the property and needed to clear a portion of a wooden fence to get to the fire. They believe an electrical issue made the initial combustion. Fire crews prevented the flames from spreading to neighboring properties.
“The bathrooms are destroyed, the seminar room is badly damaged, the worst thing is the smoke and soot inside throughout the entire building,” said Swanson’s Retail Manager, Eric Nordstrom.
Swanson’s Nursery President, Brian Damron, said that the main areas that were destroyed aside from the seminar room, was a storage area and a utility room.
Next to the damaged area is the café, which will be closed due to smoke damage. Swanson’s wanted to let concerned customers know that the exotic fish and plants living in the café were undisturbed by the fire.
“Our customer base has come out and are really supporting us,” said Nordstrom.
Eric reported that there has been a lot of support in the Next Door North Ballard webpage.
Damson said they were lucky because the administrative office is next to the area where the fire started. Now he said the only issue is a lingering smoke scent.
“Seattle Fire really did a great job. The fire was out super quickly, and we got pretty lucky,” said Aimee Damman, Director of Marketing and Communications for Swanson’s.
Swanson’s is waiting for the insurance provided to deliver an assessment of the extent of the damages to determine a timeline for repairs and the eventual reopening of the café.
As far as the fire affecting operations at Swanson’s, Damron said, “It’s business as usual,” which is a good thing because the annual fall sale this next week.
