1971 — April 25, Fire, Seventh Avenue Apartment Building, Seattle, WA — 12

— 12 NFPA. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1971,” Fire Journal, Vol. 66, No. 3, May 1972, p. 64.
— 12 National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. 1983, p. 137.
— 12 Seattle 911. “Where are Fire Escapes in Seattle Townhouses?” November 7, 2008.
— 12 Seattle Times. “Worst Fires,” April 29, 1998.

Narrative Information

National Fire Protection Association: A fire “…on April 25, involved an apartment building in Seattle, Washington, where 12 died from a fire apparently caused by careless smoking. The fire, discovered at 6:00 am, orig¬inated in a first floor apartment. The resident tried to use a fire extinguisher, but he was driven out by flames that quickly spread throughout the three-story brick, wood-jointed apartment building by means of open stairways. When fire fighters arrived flames were is¬suing from the front of the building.” (NFPA. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1971,” Fire Journal, Vol. 66, No. 3, May 1972, p. 64.)

“Q: About 30 years ago, Seattle building codes were changed to mandate external fire escapes on buildings over three stories after a horrific hotel fire….But now there are four-story ‘skinny houses’ going up all over Ballard without a fire escape in sight. Was the code repealed, or is it just being ignored?

“A: From Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen:
“‘I believe the inquiry your reader is referring to is the ‘Seventh Avenue Amendment,’ which resulted from a fire on April 25, 1971 at the Seventh Avenue Apartments, which resulted in 12 fatalities.

“This fire followed a previous fire at the Ozark Hotel on March 20, 1970 which caused 20 fatalities. The Ozark fire resulted in a city ordinance amending the Fire Code and applying to buildings four stories and greater. The Ozark ordinance did require a number of improvements, but adding a fire escape was not necessarily one of them.

“According to newspaper articles from the time, the ‘Seventh Avenue Amendment,’ resulting from the Seventh Avenue Apartments fire, extended the provisions of the Ozark ordinance to buildings three stories and less, and added additional requirements. One of the added requirements was that every building three stories or less had to have at least two exits. Addition of an exterior fire escape was one of the approved methods of adding a second exit.

“Currently, the state Legislature establishes the minimum standards by which buildings are constructed. This is done through adoption of the International Building Code, International Fire Code, International Residential Code and other related technical codes. These are promulgated through the Washington State Building Code Council, which is a board appointed by the Governor.

“Single-family homes such as the three-story ‘skinny houses,’ referred to in the inquiry, are built according to the International Residential Code, adopted with local amendments as the Seattle Residential Code, which is developed and enforced by the City’s Department of Planning and Development. Requirements for exits in all single-family houses, and the distance between those houses, are primarily established by the Washington State Building Code Council.” (Seattle 911)

Sources

National Fire Protection Association. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1971,” Fire Journal, Vol. 66, No. 3, May 1972, pp. 63-65.

National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.

Seattle 911. “Where are Fire Escapes in Seattle Townhouses?” November 7, 2008. Accessed at: http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/153732.asp

Seattle Times, WA “Worst Fires,” 4-29-1998. Accessed 7-1-2017 at: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19980429&slug=2747905