Space Needle back open after early morning fire

SEATTLE — Friday morning there was a fire at one of the most iconic sites in the Pacific Northwest, the Space Needle.

Firefighters had to climb the stairs to the very top of the building to get to the fire. Thankfully crews were able to stop the blaze from causing any serious damage.

“It would be very sad if something happened,” said a tourist.

Seattle Fire says they received reports about the fire just before 4:30 a.m. Several fire engines responded, people staying in hotels nearby saw them and heard the ruckus.

“I actually heard them from the hotel room. I’m nearly a mile out, but it was quite obvious that there was something going on downtown there was quite a lot of noise,” said Marinus Geffen who is visiting from Amsterdam.

Firefighters say flames were coming from the elevator control room at the top, and said the building is currently undergoing construction.

The incident didn’t impact hours of operation.

A spokesperson for the Space Needle says there were no injuries or damage, a relief for both locals and tourists.

“It would have been a tragedy not to be able to go up,” said a tourist.

“I mean for me growing up here it’s iconic and I know whenever I have friends come into town they are like can we do the tourist thing and go to the Space Needle, so yeah it’s cultural significant to the area,” said Ryan Hobbs.

So significant that at any point throughout the day you’ll find people either photographing or just stopping and gazing at the high rise.

“Whenever I’m flying back into Seattle it’s the landmark I look for, and I’m like okay there’s Seattle, I’m basically home,” said Hobbs.

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