PHOTOS: One of Seattle busiest thoroughfares, Madison Street in the First Hill area, has been closed to all traffic since an apartment building burned in a massive fire on New Year’s Day.
The complete closure of Madison has made traffic troubles the norm for the New Year and not the exception.
But that could change soon. The fire at the abandoned building at the corner of Ninth and Madison drew dozens of firefighters and forced the evacuation of several buildings. At that time, the danger of a full collapse was evident to Seattle Fire Department Chief Harold Scoggins.
“The walls have already been compromised, and openings have already been made by the previous fire, so it creates a flow path so it can go from floor to floor, go to the attic space, and makes it more challenging to fight,” Scoggins said.