SEATTLE – A faulty electrical cord, not fireworks, caused a fire that scorched two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration piers on Lake Union, four of the agency’s boats and two buildings, investigators said Friday.
The cord, which ran from a dock to a ship, caused the fire when it shorted early Wednesday morning, the Seattle Fire Department said. The fire was reported around 1:30 a.m., more than two hours after the end of a Fourth of July fireworks show over the lake.
The piers are expected to be unusable for as long as two years. The fire damaged two 224-foot NOAA ships, as well as a navigation operations trailer and a steam plant that supply ships with power when they’re moored at the site. Two smaller boats also were destroyed.
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