SEATTLE — The Seattle Fire Department says crews are responding to a natural gas fire in Queen Anne.
KIRO 7 spoke to Seattle Fire Department (SFD) Public Information Officer David Cuerpo on the scene, who said that firefighters first responded to reports of a fire near Queen Anne Avenue and North West Highland Drive at around 9 a.m. Wednesday.
According to SFD, a crane lift working on a nearby building hit the power lines above. This caused a fire in the fuel line of the crane itself, which then spread to a natural gas line located directly below the crane.
Firefighters are continuing to put water and foam on the fire to prevent it from spreading. The foam, which is biodegradable, could be seen filling the streets as onlookers and evacuated apartment residents watched.
Seattle City Light is on the scene, working to deenergize the power lines. Once that has been completed, Puget Sound Energy can then work on the natural gas leak, and then SFD will extinguish the fire.
SFD says the worker in the crane lift is stuck but not injured, and for their safety, they will wait until the power lines and natural gas lines are secured to rescue them.
“It’s a unique circumstance, and that’s one of the reasons we’re operating a very safe, precautionary method,” added Cuerpo.
This is a developing story.