$1.5M Damage Estimated in Bel-Red Office Park Fire and Collapse

Updated story 5 p.m.: 

Bellevue Fire continues to investigate a blaze that totalled the Forum West office complex Monday morning, destroying 15 businesses and causing an estimated $1.5 million in damages, according to Bellevue Fire Department.

According to Bellevue Fire Department spokesman Lt. Troy Donlin, a passerby in a car spotted smoke coming from the building at 12501 Bel-Red Rd. around 5:30 a.m. and responding fire fighters found a large amount of fire inside.

Fire fighters from Redmond, Kirkland and Seattle were called to assist at the scene for a total of 32 units responding, Donlin said.

Fire fighters left the interior and roof of the building about 45 minutes later because the fire was not under control, he said. The building partially collapsed on the east side of the building, taking out the second floor, though there are some salvageable areas on the first floor, Donlin said.

The Bellevue Fire Department continued to battle the blaze five hours after the fire was reported, he said. Nearly 12 hours later, smoke could seen from the remains of the building.

No injuries have been reported, though the fire fighters continue their investigation, Donlin said. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

According to the Bellevue Patch business directory, the Forum West office complex includes several health care services firms and several law firms. The building was occupied by 15 businesses and had one vacancy, Donlin said.

The building had no fire alarm and no sprinkler system, which was allowed under the city codes at the time the structure was built, Donlin said.

It was not clear Monday whether building codes now require fire alarms and sprinkler systems in office parks.

Update 3 p.m.: Damage in in the Forum West office fire estimated at $1.5 million, according to the Bellevue Fire Department. The cause is still under investigation.

Original story: A Bellevue office building on Bel-Red Road collapsed during a fire this morning, according to the .

Bellevue fire fighters responding to a fire reported at 5:30 a.m. at the Forum West building, 12501 Bel-Red Road, found a smoke around the building and a large amount of fire inside, according to Bellevue Fire Department spokesman Lt. Troy Donlin.

Firefighters from Redmond, Kirkland and Seattle were called to assist at the scene for a total of 32 units responding, Donlin said.

Firefighters left the interior and roof of the building about 45 minutes later. The building partially collapsed on the east side of the building, taking out the second floor, though there are some salvageable areas on the first floor, Donlin said.

The Bellevue Fire Department continues to battle the blaze five hours after the fire was reported, he said.

No injuries have been reported so far, though the fire fighters continue their investigation, Donlin said. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

According to the Bellevue Patch business directory, the Forum West office complex includes several health care services firms and several law firms, though it is unclear at this time which businesses were affected by the blaze.

This story will be updated with more information as it develops.