Officials with the Seattle Fire Department said multiple tents were involved in a fire inside an encampment at 10th Avenue South and South King Street in the Chinatown-International District area. Seattle firefighters responded to the encampment fire located under the Interstate 5 bridge.
No one was injured, officials said. The exact cause of the fire is unknown. The fire had residents in the community worried. Safety concerns surrounding encampments has the attention of many. There are reports of crime and businesses deciding to leave the area.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell called the RV encampment situation “unacceptable.” “It’s not a proper way for anyone to live, it’s unacceptable to them, it’s unacceptable to the neighbors. We need action from the KCRHA and we will do everything possible to prod that action to make sure it occurs,”
Data from the Seattle Fire Department shows last year they responded to 1,538 encampment-related fires. In 2021 that number was 1,446. Harrell said. In his proposed budget released late last month.
Mayor Harrell is requesting about a $14 million increase in funding for the city’s Unified Care Team, which coordinates outreach for people experiencing homelessness, provides connections to support services and fields community complaints about garbage, fires and other related nuisances.
A 45-year-old man was fatally shot near the encampment last month, Seattle police found him in a “dwelling” under the interstate. Some of the residents have been living under the bridge in tents for the last six months.
