by Walter Jayawardhana
A Southern Seattle Buddhist temple serving the Vietnamese community was completely destroyed by a fire caused by food left burning on the stove, as reported by Q13 Fox News Daily – citing the Seattle Fire Department.
“The first 911 call reported black smoke billowing from a home on the 3900 block of South Sunny View Drive that also serves as a Buddhist temple. When firefighters reached the scene, they discovered flames and smoke coming from the roof and back of the house”, the TV news dispatch said.
Further local news services communicated that the edifice destroyed by a fire at virtually the same address as the aforementioned one was believed it to be a Vietnamese temple known as Chua Bo De.
The building posed accessibility difficulties to firefighter squad. Due to the building being located on the top a steep hill, responders had to remove a portion of a fence and lower a ladder down a hillside to reach the kitchen where the fire started. 600 feet of hose line are claimed to have been used to reach the flames. Furthermore, combustible materials inside the home exacerbated the fire, which took 30 minutes to completely extinguish.
The homeowner, who only suffered a minor burn on his head, told firefighters that he was cooking when the fire began around him in the kitchen. He was treated by paramedics on the scene.
The home-temple alone amount to a total loss of $300,000 and investigators also estimated $300,000 of property damage inside.
