A rubbish fire that damaged the electrical system of a Seattle apartment building has left approximately 88 residents without a home, prompting the American Red Cross to open an emergency shelter at Seattle Center's Exhibition Hall. The blaze, reported on the exterior of a building in the 900 block of Sixth Avenue shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, ultimately affected 51 apartment units in the building.
According to The Seattle Times, the Seattle Fire Department responded to the reported blaze and found fire crews searching the building within minutes of arrival. In a social media post, the department said the fire damaged the building's electrical systems, resulting in high-voltage electrical arcing, prompting officials to call in Seattle City Light to shut down power to the structure entirely.
Metro Buses Step In As Shelter Opens
With the building evacuated and without power, a King County Metro bus was dispatched to provide temporary shelter for those displaced while longer-term arrangements were made. By Monday evening, the American Red Cross had opened a formal shelter at 7:30 p.m. at Seattle Center's Exhibition Hall, giving displaced tenants a place to stay.
The Red Cross said in a news release that the fire displaced approximately 88 residents and affected 51 apartment units — figures that underscore just how many households in the building were suddenly left without a place to sleep. Most Red Cross shelters, per the organization's release, provide food, cots and other urgent needs to people in exactly this kind of situation.
What Evacuees Are Being Told To Bring
The Red Cross release encouraged evacuees to bring medication, clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies, important documents and comfort items whenever it was safe to do so — practical guidance for residents displaced by the overnight fire.
The fire department's social media post described high-voltage electrical arcing as a result of damage to the building's electrical systems, and it remains unclear how long residents of the Sixth Avenue building will need to remain in Red Cross care. Seattle has seen other apartment fires displace residents this year, including a two-alarm fire that displaced residents in the Wallingford neighborhood in July. A separate fire occurred in a six-story building in the Central Area and Squire Park neighborhoods on August 31, 2026, though that incident was separate from Sunday's fire on Sixth Avenue.
