One person remains unaccounted for after an overnight fire ravaged the historic Fairhaven Terminal Building in Bellingham’s southside Fairhaven Village. No injuries or other missing persons have been reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Hewett said one employee from one of the affected businesses has been reported missing. Additional details will be provided as the investigation continues.
“This is a devastating tragedy right in the heart of Fairhaven,” Hewett said. “Our number one priority now is getting the building stabilized so we can conduct a thorough search. Until it is safe for our team to enter further into the structure, we cannot conduct a search for the missing individual or determine the cause of the fire.”
The fire was first reported just before midnight on Saturday, December 16 and was contained by 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 17, Hewett said.
He said the first fire personnel to arrive attempted to enter the building to search for occupants and extinguish the fire but were quickly forced to withdraw as the building’s second floor was starting to sag and they feared it would collapse.
The fire caused extensive damage to the historic Harris Avenue structure, destroying the Harris Avenue Café, the former Tony’s Coffee now called Old Independent Coffeehouse, and numerous second floor office spaces.
While most neighboring businesses are open today after the overnight fire, the Dirty Dan Harris Steakhouse, located in an immediately adjacent building, is closed until further notice, according to a statement on the business’s social media site.
Parking along Harris Avenue and 11th Street has been fenced off and will be closed for an unknown amount of time to ensure public safety in the event portions of the building collapse, Hewett said.
Hewett said the Bellingham Fire Department responded to the fire just before midnight with the building fully engulfed upon arrival. Multiple crews from Bellingham Fire and neighboring districts fought the fire for most of the night. (see details below)
Many community members have visited Fairhaven to view the scene and City officials thank everyone for respecting safety boundaries and allowing our public safety teams continue their work. Our special thanks to Bellingham Fire Department and Bellingham Police Department personnel for their extensive work overnight to protect public safety, defend neighboring buildings, and contain the fire.
The Fairhaven Terminal Building was the oldest surviving continuously occupied commercial building in Fairhaven, built in 1888.
Fire response details
- The original call was dispatched at 11:58 p.m. Saturday, December 16, 2023, responding with 3 engines, 1 ladder truck, 1 battalion chief, 1 medic unit, 1 EMS supervisor, for a total of 16 personnel.
- The first engine (E2 from Station 2 on Harris Street) on scene arrived at 12:02 a.m. Sunday, December 17, 2023.
- The first engine company to arrive reported heavy fire from the front of the Harris Avenue Café with fire extending out the front windows and up to the second story.
- Crews attempted to enter the building to search for occupants and extinguish the fire but were quickly forced to withdraw as the second floor was starting to sag and they feared it would collapse.
- Based on the initial reports, a second alarm was called, responding with an additional 4 engines, 1 ladder truck, and an additional medic unit, for a total of 17 more personnel.
- Crews used multiple ladder trucks, ground monitors and hose lines to apply water from the outside, at one point flowing in excess of 5,000 gallons per minute.
- During the firefight crews were also continually checking on neighboring businesses to ensure the fire was not spreading beyond the original building.
- 2 additional engines were dispatched around 2 a.m. to provide additional support, for a total of 6 more personnel.
- The fire was determined to be under control by around 3:30 a.m. and some fire suppression crews were released.
- By 6 a.m. the fire had been extinguished and all suppression crews were released from the scene.
Hewett said in addition to fire crews from Bellingham Fire, South Whatcom Fire Authority, North Whatcom Fire and Rescue, and Whatcom County Fire District 7, support was provided by Bellingham Police Department to help with street closures and Bellingham Public Works to help manage the storm water runoff from the fire attack.
