100-year-old warehouse destroyed by fire overnight in downtown Olympia

OLYMPIA, Wash. - A 100-year-old warehouse was destroyed early Tuesday after a massive fire tore through a city block in downtown Olympia.

Fire officials say it's too early to say whether the two-alarm blaze may have been started by July Fourth fireworks.

Crews responded to the fire, at State Avenue NE and Adams Street NE, at about 1:15 a.m. after receiving calls about fire and smoke spewing from the building.

Towering flames were shooting into the night sky when the first firefighters arrived on scene. They fought the fire for an hour and a half before bringing it under control. Crews also fought to keep the heat from reaching a fuel shop and several propane tanks nearby.

Meanwhile, power crews rushed in to deactivate electrical lines next to the warehouse.

Brandon Williams says he was nearby with his friends when they smoke from the fire billowing into the air.

"We saw the smoke first and then we ran up here and saw flames that were like 20 or 30 feet in the air," he said. "It's one heck of a way to end a Fourth of July."

Crews were still dousing flare-ups and hot spots as dawn broke over the scene Tuesday morning.

Officials say the destroyed warehouse was built before 1920 as part of a lumber mill and housed a number of different tenants over the years. Most recnttly, it was a storage warehouse for a local fuel company with the tea wholesaler and wood shop renting space.

The concern now is that the warehouse's wooden walls may collapse. So it could be several hours before investigators can get a close look and determine the cause of the blaze. After that, the building will be demolished.

The blaze flared up just an hour or two after people were celebrating the Fourth of July, but officers say it's too early to say whether fireworks were to blame or if there is anything suspicious about the fire.

Two fuel oil delivery trucks and two other trucks inside the building were also destroyed.

Preliminary damage estimates are $350,000 for the building and $500,000 for the contents, officials said.