Everett, Wash.
Published: Friday, June 27, 2008

Blaze quickly devoured building, but could have been worse

Cause unknown in blaze that engulfed Everett title company

By Jackson Holtz and Diana Hefley, Herald Writers

 EVERETT -- The inferno that tore through an Everett office building was one of the biggest fires in the city in recent years, and investigators estimate the damage will tally $1 million.

The destruction could have been much worse.

No one was hurt in the three-alarm blaze, and fire officials said it was remarkable the fire didn't swallow up neighboring buildings.

On Thursday, as the charred remains of the Stewart Title Co. building in the 2700 block of Wetmore Avenue continued to smolder, a team of fire investigators from the county was joined by four federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The gutted building was too dangerous for investigators to scour on foot Thursday. Fire officials were lowered into part of the rubble using a crane. Investigators don't believe the fire was intentionally set, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.

Fire officials say they haven't been able to determine the cause of the blaze. Firefighters guarded the building overnight to watch for any flare-ups.

The fire was reported just before 9 p.m. Wednesday after someone saw flames in the building and called 911, Everett Fire Chief Murray Gordon said.

The first firefighters to arrive rushed into the single-story, 6,000-square-foot office building to see if they could douse the flames, he said.

Minutes later, an incident commander determined it was too dangerous and ordered them back out.

"We won't risk a life when the property is lost and there are no lives to be saved," Gordon said.

Instead, crews fought to keep the fire from spreading to the buildings next door.

After watching the fire burn late into the night, Kathy Hunter, who owns the building adjacent to Stewart Title, on Thursday morning brought maple bars, doughnuts and coffee to thank the firefighters for saving her property.

"Outstanding job, outstanding," she said. "They did a fabulous job."

Stewart Title employees on Thursday were busy working from their homes and the company's offices in Bothell and SeaTac, company president Carl Jorgensen said.

Because the company makes extensive use of computer records, which are routinely backed up, business continued with little interruption, he said.

"Three years ago if this had happened, we would have been dead," he said. Now, with the use of the Internet, business can be conducted from almost anywhere.

The title company building, which the company moved into seven years ago, is insured, Jorgensen said.

"The fortunate thing is that nobody got hurt or killed," he said.

Stewart Title, the third largest title insurance company in the state, made headlines in 2007 after state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler announced he would seek a nearly $2 million fine against the business for repeatedly violating a law barring companies from giving excessive gifts and incentives to real estate agents. Stewart Title officials appealed the fine and an administrative hearing is scheduled for the end of August in Olympia, agency spokeswoman Hilary Young said. Company officials declined comment on the case Thursday.

The company plans to reopen an office in Everett as soon as possible, likely in already rented space in a neighboring building, Jorgensen said.

Wednesday's fire had other neighboring business scrambling.

At the YMCA, fans were used to clear out the smell of smoke. The gym and other services were closed until noon Thursday.

Providence Hospice and Homecare of Snohomish County, which serves 750 patients, rerouted phone lines and found others places for employees to work.

Wednesday night, firefighters were stationed inside the adjacent buildings to help make sure the blaze didn't spread, Everett's fire chief said.

Ladder crews used hoses to create a wall of water for hours to help fight off the flames which at times clawed 50 feet into the air. Before that happened, firefighters had clambered on top of the burning office building to cut holes in the roof, trying to release hot gases and flames before they caused major damage. They had to hurry down when the fire exploded behind them.

Stewart Title's offices had a mix of old and new furniture and file cabinets full of paper, Jorgensen said.

Contemporary office furniture is made mostly from plastics and other petroleum-based materials that burn quickly and hot, Gordon said.

"There's really very few elements of an office space that don't have some components that's not petroleum based," he said.

Fire investigators found no violations when they last inspected the Wetmore Avenue office on July 23, 2007, Gordon said.

Wednesday's fire was similar to one that destroyed the Grifols Biomat USA Plasma Center in downtown Everett in January 2005, he said. That fire caused $2 million damage, including $1 million in frozen plasma that was rendered unusable.

Despite the flames and billowing clouds of smoke, Wednesday's fire wasn't nearly as big as mill and pier fires that in the past threatened the city, Gordon said.

Still, the chief said the firefighters on Wednesday did a "great job."

"It's really easy to say that when I saw the smiles of the business owners of the adjacent buildings," Gordon said. "They were amazed and impressed at the efforts that went into limiting the fire to the building of origin and to saving their buildings and businesses."



Herald writer Sharon Salyer contributed to this report.



Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA