A large commercial building owned by West Seattle's Tom Lin, just adjacent to the Kent Station shopping center was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of Dec. 9.
A fire in a commercial building in Kent overnight drew a massive response from area firefighters. The building is owned by Tom Lin, former owner of the Alki Homestead and several other West Seattle properties. Lin said he suspects it was homeless people who set the fire but that has not been officially confirmed. Ironically the Homestead was severely damaged by fire caused by faulty Christmas lights in January of 2009
Westside Seattle news partner Fox 13 News covered the fire here.
The fire was under control by about 6:30 a.m., officials said.
Firefighters from multiple agencies were called to help fight the fire, including Puget Sound Fire, Renton RFA, and VRFA, Tukwila FD, Skyway Fire, and KCM1.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.
Smith St. was closed between Central Ave. and Ramsay Way but has since reopened.
The Sounder S Line was also impacted as Burlington-Northern was forced to close the train tracks as crews fought the fire. By 8:00 a.m., the Sounder was again running and the tracks were open.
