Crews extinguish Renton fire in vacant Boeing building

Published 1:10 pm Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Local firefighters put out a fire in an abandoned Boeing building in Renton on Sunday evening, June 11, later finding two unhoused people and a dog on the roof of the building.

Firefighting crews from Renton Regional Fire Authority, Puget Sound Fire, Skyway Fire and Eastside Fire responded to a two-alarm commercial fire after 6 p.m. on Sunday when the weekend’s rainy weather was beginning to dissipate.

When fire crews arrived, they found a thick, smoldering fire on the first floor of the vacant Boeing office building near North Sixth Street and Park Avenue North. After extinguishing the fire, crews found that the smoke rose to the other floors of the seven-story building and investigated further.

“They did a floor-by-floor search and found the two people and the dog on the roof of the building,” said Puget Sound Fire spokesperson Pat Pawlak. “They were escorted down where Renton police released them and they went on their way.”

The two men and the dog found on the roof received no injuries from the smoke or fire and fire crews were able to control the smoke and were able to leave the scene after three hours.

According to Renton Fire, an investigation found that the fire was intentionally set and resulted in an estimated $100,000 worth of damage.