Massive response to fire at Shoreline Community College Tuesday morning

An active fire in a science building at Shoreline Community College was enough to call out three fire departments: Shoreline, South County, and Seattle and put the Seattle HazMat team on standby. Photo by Bruce Miller

Tuesday morning, May 23, 2023 just after 8:00am, a fire broke out in Building 2600. One staff member was in the building and safely evacuated after their initial attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful. 

The staff member immediately contacted Campus Security and 911, which had previously been notified via the campus fire alarm system.

Campus Security and members of the Facilities department began to set up a perimeter as Shoreline Fire and neighboring partner agencies arrived on scene to begin firefighting operations.

Four buildings and the construction site were evacuated.
Photo by Bruce Miller

The buildings immediately surrounding the fire (2700, 2800, 2900, and the HSAAMCC construction site) were evacuated out of an abundance of caution, to limit exposure to smoke/fumes and in the event the fire jumped structures.

The fire was fully extinguished, and the Shoreline Fire Marshal’s Office and King County Sheriff Fire Investigation Unit have completed their investigations. Director of Safety and Security Greg Cranson will reach out to stakeholders about reentry and salvage.

Personnel from Campus Security, Facilities, and the employee that was present when the fire broke out were all assessed by Shoreline Fire medical personnel for smoke inhalation and none required treatment.

Classes and college business will resume in the surrounding buildings (2700, 2800, 2900, HSAAMCC site) on Wednesday, 05/24/2023. 

Due to damage from this incident, Building 2600 will now remain unoccupied and unused until its pre-planned demolition this fall to make way for a new STEAM building.
Photo by Bruce Miller

The college has identified space for classes and labs typically held in Building 2600, and those updates have been passed to instructors and students. Due to the incident, the 2200, 2700, and 2800 buildings have no HVAC. The college is working with Puget Sound Energy on a timeline for restoration.

The college is incredibly grateful for the work done by Shoreline Fire and their partner agencies who responded quickly to fight fire. While the loss of equipment and space is unfortunate, material items can be replaced. We are thankful that nobody was injured during the fire.

The college will hold a debrief to determine what went well and identify the areas where we can improve, as the pursuit of providing a safe and secure campus is always our first priority.--Greg Cranson, Acting Director of Safety and Security