It’s been more than a year since the deadly fire in Fremont that claimed the lives of five people. Of the five people who died at 41st. NW and NW Leary St, four of them were children. According to investigators, the fire was caused by a foam mattress in a downstairs closet that was leaning against a light bulb and was ruled accidental.

Earlier this month, lawyers for Helen Gebregiorgis, the mother of the four children, filed a claim for damages, stating she “suffered severe psychological trauma caused by her presence at the fire scene and the loss of her children and relatives.”

According to the claim, “Seattle Housing Authority owned the premises and had installed lighting in the closet that was a ceiling fixture from which a bare light bulb was suspended. The on/off switch for the light was inside the closet. The fixture did not include any type of protective cover over the light bulb. The mattress came in contact with the light bulb and ignited.”

Kathy Goater, Helen Gebregiorgis’ lawyer, wrote in the filing dated July 7 that they are seeking no less than $10 million in damages.

The Housing Authority is also named in a claim from Abdelrahman Shamam, father of two of the children. He is seeking $4 million in damages.

The Housing Authority is unable to comment at this time.

“The sad feeling is every day.”

That’s how a next door resident describes constantly seeing a burned out Fremont townhome unit where a young woman and four children died in a fire on June 12.  Now we’ve learned the Seattle Housing Authority, which owns the property, is planning to make repairs to the unit.

The scene now at 334 NW 41st Street in Fremont

Yellow tape still surrounds the front of the townhome and plywood covers the windows.  One resident next door tells us there’s been no sign of repair work since the fire.  Another neighbor across the street tells us at least one family in the townhome complex has moved out in the wake of the blaze. 

According to the construction permit, the damaged unit will be repaired to its original configuration.  We’ve put in several requests for more information from the Seattle Housing Authority, but they have not provided any additional details. 

A Seattle Times story reported on Fire Chief Gregory Dean’s explanation to City Council Friday of the circumstances that led to the deaths of five people - including four children - in an apartment fire in Fremont on June 12. While there was a malfunction that caused a delay of water on the scene, Dean’s review concluded firefighters were not at fault and that possibly the only thing that might have made a difference would have been a sprinkler system, which was not required in the building because it was built before those were required in these buildings.

Dean said this detailed review will not result in changes to the department’s firefighting protocols.

His explanation to them matched the account he told community members at a meeting July 1.

Dean told council members that mechanical problems with an engine that delayed putting water on the fire have been addressed and that mistakes made by its operator are being dealt with through training.

Both the chief and an independent analyst concluded that, while operator error contributed to the incident, the firefighters responsible acted according to their training and can’t be blamed.

Moreover, the chief reiterated that the fire that roared through the two-story town house was so intense that it is unlikely anyone could have been saved even if the engine had functioned properly.

The outcome might have been different, Dean said, had the 40-year old structure been equipped with a sprinkler system. Sprinklers have been required in new multifamily construction since 1988.

The article goes into more detail about the malfunction that prevented water from coming out of the first engine on the scene.

An investigator concluded that the problem was likely traced to a touch-activated selector that engages the pump. That unit has been replaced on all 10 similar trucks in the department, Dean said.

Dean said the driver three times tried to start the pumps, but failed each time. Each time he had to turn off the engine of the firetruck and turn off the battery, and then turn both back on.

But what he didn’t know is that he was supposed to leave everything turned off for 10 seconds to make it work.

A benefit concert for the survivors of the fatal Fremont fire that took the lives of four children and one adult on June 12 is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday July 13 at Nectar (416 N. 36th St.).

There have been a few fundraisers for the Gebregiorgis and Smith families, who were devastated by the blaze, including one at Nectar on June 29, a potluck amongst neighbors on June 14 and donations gathered at the Fremont Fair. There are also memorial accounts set up at Chase Bank (Waterways Employee Memorial Fund) and Bank of America (Seattle Children’s Fire Fund). If you want to donate, you have to do so in person at any of either bank’s branches.

Helen Gebregiorgis, 31 and her 5-year-old niece, Samarah Smith, survived the fire, which began with a mattress laying against a light bulb left on in a closet. Those who did not survive the fire: Gebregiorgis’ sons Joseph Gebregiorgis, 13, and Yaseen Shamam, 5, and daughter, Nisreen Shamam, 6; their aunt, Eyerusalem Gebregiorgis, 22; and a 7-year-old niece, Nyella Smith.

Doors open at 8 for the 21-and-over crowd, with a $7 suggested donation at the door.

Unlike the June 29 fundraiser, which focused on folk music, this event will include local hip-hop and R&B. Eddie Francis of KUBE 93 will host, with comedian D. Lamont Hall. Artists include: DJ Peg, Chelsea (spoken word), S-N-O, Sonny Bonoho, Bad Company, Peta Tosh, Maineak of Stahi Brothaz, Tomeka Williams (with a live band), Black Stax, Tre-Eight/Guap Fam and Eighty4fly.

Almost three weeks after a fatal Fremont apartment fire that claimed the lives of four children and one adult, Seattle Fire Chief Gregory Dean explained to about 30 members of the community at Fremont Baptist Thursday night, what happened that morning — including the malfunction that caused the first engine to arrive not to pump water — and reiterated the importance of fire prevention.

After such a tragic fire, Dean said, the Seattle Fire Department’s takeaways include the importance of early notification, communication within the community and other preventative measures.

“We’d like takeways. We want to find ways to learn from this tragic event we all experienced,” he said. “Our role is to save lives. This has an impact on everybody.”

But it was apparent the scars from that event won’t go away anytime soon. Neighbors who witnessed the fire expressed anger and frustration, still, at the time it took for the fire department to get water on the June 12 blaze.

“I think angry words were thrown, and I think I threw them,” said one woman, who did not identify herself except to say she was a neighbor who has witnessed not only this fire, but another one at the same apartment, same complex, two years ago. “I do publicly apologize. But I have serious questions and concerns. I was there for the whole thing. I still have wounds on my legs.”

Chief Dean’s narrative of what happened did not reveal any major revelations not already made public. This accidental fire started on the first floor. Someone woke up Helen Gebregiorgis, who went to a closet and found a smoldering mattress, left against a lightbulb that had been left on. She went to the windows to clear out the smoke - which in turn, created a chimney effect. The smoke alarm was ringing the entire time, but then she heard an explosion — Dean said likely an aerosol can or windows breaking — and she went outside with one child.

“Fire spreads quickly,” Dean said.

The other 4 children (ages 13, 7, 6, 5) and their aunt, Eyerusalem Gebregiorgis, 22, sought safety in a second floor bathroom.

The first engine to arrive on the scene saw “heavy, black smoke” and drove past the building, both to make room for the ladder and medic units on the way and to gauge access to the building on the other sides. Engine 18 had 500 gallons of water but a malfunction — which was later found to be a worn transmission control pad — prevented it from being used. Hooking up to a fire hydrant - which has much less pressure than the equipment on the engines - would not have been feasible.

The building, which was a triplex built in 1988, before requirements for sprinkler systems.

Firefighters who pressurized the apartment next door to the one burning found that the second layer of sheetrock was too hot, so they chose not to break through and risk spreading the fire to the rest of the complex. At this point, the fire burned at about 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. They and other firefighters on the scene, Dean said, were unable to see anybody.

Helen Gebregiorgis, he said, was unable to get back into the building, even though that was her intent. The first calls to 911 were made at 10:04 a.m. The first engine arrived at 10:09, with the second arriving at 10:12, which is when Dean estimates water first hit the flames.

SFD’s Public Education Director Lisa Van Horn urged the community to update smoke alarms, form escape plans and practice them.

“The most likely place for you to experience a fire is in your home, and the most likely victim is a child,” she said.

Mayor Mike McGinn, Fire Marshal John Nelsen and members of the responding SFD units were also at the meeting.

Nectar was the site of a benefit concert Tuesday night for the family of the victims who died June 12 as a result of a fire no more than 5 minutes from the downtown Fremont venue.

At the door were posters from the Fremont Fire about the fire, the 4 children, their aunt, and their families, and the fund set up through Bank of America, Seattle Children’s Fire Fund. (Walk into any branch and make a donation to that fund.)

Allecia Clemons, who did not know her neighbors until the tragedy, felt compelled to organize this event as well as a potluck fundraiser 2 days after the accident. She doesn’t know how much money was raised, but she gave the jar directly to the family. She estimated it was several hundred dollars. Thousands more have come in through direct donations at the Fremont Fair (more than $1000) and the memorial funds, such as the “Waterways Employee Memorial Fund,” established by Waterways Cruises, the employer of the childrens’ mother Helen Gebregiorgis, the late Eyerusalem Gebregiorgis, and their father. The company seeded the fund with $5,000. Donate through any Chase Bank branch.

About 40 people, including Daniel Gebregiorgis, the brother and uncle to the victims, showed up to the event, which focused on folk singers organized by Allecia Clemons (pictured below), the next door neighbor of the family that perished in the blaze. The other acts on the bill included: Rose Laughlin (who grew up with Clemons in West Seattle), Ann Fiser, Michael Trew (who performed with Autumn Electric), Clallum Country and Allecia Clemons and the Sexy #’s.

“Helen lost her belongings, but also her children. She can replace her belongings,” said Clemons, who knows what it’s like to lose everything (in the way of material possessions), having been the victim of such a fire when she was 19.

Suggested donations of $10 were taken at the door, where people could also buy $5 raffle tickets. The raffle prize was a donation from six-time Grammy winner John Legend, who provided 4 tickets & backstage passes to his concert at the Puyallup Fair in September.

The first few singers, with their melancholy and contemplative ballads, reflected the more somber mood of the events that brought everyone together last night.

Rose Laughlin

Ann Fiser

But Michael Trew and Autumn Electric picked up the pace, injecting an infectious, rollicking beat and energy that would fit in with any Seattle pop/indie bill.

Joined by many friends, Daniel Gebregiorgis stayed mostly on the second floor of Nectar overlooking the first floor. Hipsters upstairs; a crunchier, older crowd downstairs; but all there to support the family. Many others would have made it, Clemons said, but the tragedy is still too fresh.

“I just got a phone call from a neighbor in the apartment complex. She can’t make it tonight. It’s too hard. Most of them are still traumatized,” said Clemons, who said the fire has brought them together. “The constant reminder of seeing that building is hard.”

The morning of the fire, Clemons and her neighbors ran to try to help, but once they got to the apartment, they ran into flames “as big as the door. There was no way to get out - or in.”

She hopes this will be the first of many fundraisers, with the ultimate goal for Clemons to raise enough money to buy a condo - in Fremont - for Helen Gebregiorgis.

Another concert fundraiser is scheduled at Nectar on July 13, this one in partnership with Kube 93.3 FM and local mainstream and hip hop artists.

In the aftermath of the tragic fire that claimed the lives of 4 children and one adult on June 12, the Neighbors of Fremont have organized a benefit concert to raise money for the family of the victims.

Tuesday night at Nectar (412 N. 36th St.), Allicia Clemons & The Sexy #’s will be joined by Rose Laughlin, Ann Fiser, Clallam Country and Michael Trew to perform for the benefit. The show begins at 7 p.m., for 21 and over. $10 suggested donation and $5 raffles.

Clemons was the next door neighbor of the victims.

If you can’t make the show, you can still make a donation through any Bank of America branch to the “Seattle Children’s Fire Fund.”

UPDATE: Another way to donate to the family is through the “Waterways Employee Memorial Fund,” established by Waterways Cruises, the employer of Helen Gebregiorgis, the late Eyerusalem Gebregiorgis, and their father. The company seeded the fund with $5,000. Stop into any Chase Bank branch in person to make a donation.

The Seattle Fire Department has scheduled a community meeting in Fremont to discuss the deadly fire on June 12. Chief Gregory Dean will be in attendance, along with fire prevention educators who will review steps on how to prepare for a fire emergency in your home. The meeting takes place Thursday, July 1 at 6:30pm at the Fremont Baptist Church at 717 N. 36th Street. For more information, contact the fire department’s public information office at 206-386-1463.

The reserve fire engine that malfunctioned and couldn’t pump water when it arrived at the deadly Fremont fire on June 12 had a faulty part. That part, a transmission pad, is now being replaced on 10 other engines as a precaution.

Officials say despite the engine’s failure and the short delay in getting water on the fire, it wouldn’t have made a difference in the blaze that claimed five lives.

UPDATE, 6/25: From the Seattle Fire Department:

After more than 39 hours of diagnostic and field testing, the consultant and emergency vehicle technicians were able to replicate the problem that occurred on June 12. They isolated the problem to a worn transmission control keypad. The keypad controls the vehicle’s transmission which engages the pump.

The consultant advised on recovery procedures if the pad does not engage on first attempt. The Fire Department has put together a set of written instructions for firefighters on how to “reboot” the system if necessary. The instructions will include the normal procedures for putting the engine in to pump and instructions for what to do if the engine will not go in to pump. They will be put in the cab of every engine in the department.

“Overall this particular device has performed very reliably over the years. But with this latest failure, we will redouble our efforts to maintain the reliability of our vehicles,” added Seattle Fire Chief Gregory Dean and Acting Director of Fleets and Facilities Fred Podesta.

All Seattle Fire Department vehicles receive a daily, weekly and monthly operator check and are on a six month preventative maintenance schedule.

The consultant is Mike Thorn of Oregon Apparatus Repair, Inc. He will provide a written report on his findings next week.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has decided not to make any cuts to the fire department in the wake of Saturday’s deadly fire here in Fremont.  Mid-year budget cuts were announced this morning.

“In light of the tragic events in Fremont over the weekend, the mayor is not proposing any reductions to the fire department to give us time and to give us an opportunity to fully evaluate and review safety implications of changes in the fire department’s budget,” said Beth Goldberg with the city budget office.

The mayor decided to fully fund all community centers and swimming pools across the city.  The only areas that took a big hit in the Parks budget were wading pools and park maintenance.  The nearby Gilman wading pool will be closed this summer, and the East Queen Anne wading pool will only operate 3 days a week.  You can see the complete list of cuts here.