Aug. 4—Two Tacoma firefighters were injured Thursday battling a fire in the Stadium District that damaged three buildings, the Tacoma Fire Department reported Friday morning.
The fire appears to have started in a building at 207 N. I St. before spreading to two neighboring buildings. All were vacant, according to the Tacoma Fire Department. Two firefighters were injured when parts of a building facade collapsed.
The Tacoma Fire Department was notified about the fire at 8:39 p.m. Firefighters saw heavy flames and smoke, said Joe Meinecke, the department's spokesperson. They attacked the fire from outside, Meinecke said.
People gathered near the burning buildings to watch as about 60 firefighters with eight or nine engines were on scene.
One injured firefighter was taken to a hospital, Tacoma Fire said. The other firefighter stayed at the scene after being evaluated by paramedics.
"We're happy to report that firefighter is OK," Meinecke said. "There were no injuries to bystanders."
The fire was put out a little after midnight after about four hours. A fire watch crew was left nearby overnight to monitor the buildings.
I Street remained closed Friday morning in the vicinity of the fire.
The cause has not been released. A team of fire investigators was at the scene Friday morning, Tacoma Fire said.
Some nearby businesses sustained smoke damage, including Rapture Massage & Bodyworks and Alliant Physical Therapy & Integral Medicine.
Rapture Massage & Bodyworks owner Carol Bui told the News Tribune that there wasn't any physical damage to her shop, but the smell of smoke is heavy, and they will more than likely remain closed until the end of the month while the building is fully assessed for structural damage.
"As a small business, this is a huge blow. Even closing for a week is really hard on us," Rapture Massage posted on its website. "But we need to make sure the space is safe and functional before we can return. Again, we will share updates as we get them."
"I think all of us, collectively, are struggling more with the anxiety of how to recover from damage, and, of course, there's the concern of lost income. You know, that's pretty heavy on us and as a small business since we have to shut down for most likely the rest of this month to clean up and to replace anything and make sure there's that the facility is safe," Bui said.
Frank Roberts, scenic carpenter and actor in "The Play That Goes Wrong" was at rehearsal nearby at Tacoma Little Theatre on Thursday when he smelled smoke. Roberts walked outside and saw a "giant column of smoke." Firefighters hosed down the theater as a preventive measure, Roberts said.
Staff writer Rosemary Montalvo contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 4, 2023, 11:30 AM.
___
(c)2023 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
Visit The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) at www.TheNewsTribune.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
