An early morning fire broke out Sunday at nonprofit Ragfinery’s building on North Forest Street in Bellingham.
Multiple fire units responded to a call of a commercial fire around 5:49 a.m. Dec. 29, according to PulsePoint.
The first Bellingham fire crew on scene arrived at 5:53 a.m. and found heavy smoke on the roofline of the building. It took nearly an hour to knock the fire down, said Dustin Michaelis, the public information officer at Bellingham Fire Department. The fire had started on the outside of the building and then flames went up into the eaves of the building.
Michaelis described the fire as stubborn because once it reached the attic space, flames ignited debris in the area.
Building owner Ethan Potts said he was notified at 7:25 a.m. by one of the building’s tenants about the fire. He said someone was camping alongside the building.
“There was a fire that must’ve gotten away from them,” Potts said.
Michaelis could not confirm if the fire started because of someone camping in the area.
Potts said there is water damage to the building as well as smoke damage in the attic where the fire was in the rafters.
Pictures shared on social media show fire crews attending to the fire. Around 7:30 a.m., a Cascadia Daily News staffer observed a blocked-off road, multiple fire crews and a smoking building.
The Bellingham Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire with the assistance of the Bellingham Police Department.
Rue Macdonald, the interim executive director at Ragfinery, said in a statement that the nonprofit is still assessing the full extent of the damage. She posted photos on Facebook showing portions of the ceiling coming into the shop and smoke damage in the attic.
Rather than requesting volunteers, Macdonald said the best way to show support for Ragfinery is by considering donating funds to help the rebuilding process.
“We are deeply moved by the outpouring of love and support from our community—it reminds us why we do what we do,” Macdonald said.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
