Fire destroyed a two-story office building on Bel-Red Road on Monday, displacing 15 buisnesses.
Emergency dispatchers received a cell phone call at 5:31 a.m. The structure, the Forum West office buildihng, is across from the Coca Cola plant across from the Coke Factory.
Bellevue firefighters arrived within five minutes to find a light haze from the Forum West office building. Firefighters entered the building and found heavy smoke and fire on the second floor.
Firefighters from Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland worked inside and on the roof of the structure to confine the fire. Within 43 minutes, Bellevue Fire requested a second and third alarm as well as units from the Seattle Fire Department. Concerned about the structural stability of the building, firefighters were ordered to withdraw after 45 minutes. Shortly after firefighters withdrew, the east side of the building collapsed onto itself.
Firefighters continued to fight the fire from the exterior for nearly two hours before the majority of the fire was knocked down. No injuries were reported during the incident.
The damage is estimated at $1.5 million and the building is a total loss.