RV Fire
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Date
January 11, 2023
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Street Report
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Seattle Facing Growing Risk From Encampment Fires

Jonathan Choe
January 11, 2023
Street Report
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Categories
Street Report

Exclusive

Tuesday evening, massive RV INFERNO in #Seattle‘s Wallingford neighborhood. Everyone got out safe. Owner of vehicle says he was trying to stay warm when propane tank exploded. @SeattleFire saved day. Neighbors came by w/blankets.

RV’s Remain Liability

There are multiple RV’s parked across street from Wallingford post office. Neighbors have complained to city for months with ZERO action. Not just about fire risks, but more crime linked to campers. More thefts+gas being siphoned from parked cars.

Major Drain

#Seattle Fire Dept. released latest list of encampment-related fires+medical responses for people experiencing homelessness for 2020, 2021 and 2022. All approximates. Volume spiking each year.

Seattle’s First Encampment Fire of 2023

On Jan 3, no casualties or serious injuries at S. Lake Union camp. But this one near Space Needle been cleared before. City+outreach struggling to get in front of repeat situations.

More Incidents This Year

On Jan. 5, cops got call for “incendiary device” at Capitol Hill encampment. Ended up being guy burning fire to stay warm. Camps remain major liability and drain on city.

Exclusive

Day after Christmas 2022, this one erupted at encampment off S. Rainier Ave/90E ramp on @WSDOT property. Campers in nearby tents were furious because it will now attract more scrutiny.

Reliable Source

Tuesday night’s fire also knocked out internet at UW Medical and Harborview. Unclear to what extent but it is being repaired. Fiber is above ground. Fire was large and hot enough to damage fiber circuit owned and maintained by City of #Seattle.

Jonathan Choe

Journalist and Senior Fellow, Center on Wealth and Poverty
Jonathan Choe is a journalist and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute's Center on Wealth and Poverty, covering homelessness issues for its Fix Homelessness initiative. Prior to joining Discovery, Choe spent several years as one of the lead reporters at KOMO-TV, consistently the top rated television station in Seattle. His in depth stories on crime and deep dive investigations into the homeless crisis led to measurable results in the community, including changes in public policy. Choe has more than two decades of experience in television news behind the scenes and in front of the camera for ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and Tribune. He has also been nominated and honored with multiple industry awards including an Emmy. Choe spent several years teaching classes on emerging media and entrepreneurship to under privileged youth in inner city Chicago. As an independent journalist, Choe also contributes regularly to the Mill Creek View and Lynnwood Times and has reported on exclusive stories in the past year for Daily Wire and The Postmillennial.