When Crisis Strikes: Thank You to the Heroes Who Kept FUSION Safe
Earlier this week, the Pete Andersen FUSION Family Center experienced a fire in our commercial laundry room. We are incredibly grateful that everyone made it out safely and no one was injured.
We want to extend our deepest thanks to South King County Fire for their quick and professional response. Their crews immediately jumped into action, made sure everyone was safely evacuated, and worked quickly to limit the damage. We are so grateful for the service they provide to our community and for the care they showed to our FUSION families.
Preparedness Matters
While we certainly never want to experience an emergency like this, it is exactly why we regularly conduct fire drills at the shelter. Those drills help our residents and staff know what to do when an emergency happens and allow everyone to respond quickly and calmly.
We are also incredibly proud of our residents. Their cooperation during this emergency helped ensure that everyone could get out safely.
Our staff did an amazing job as well. They kept a level head, followed established procedures, helped residents evacuate, and worked to make sure everyone was safe and accounted for. In a situation that could have been frightening and chaotic, their preparation and teamwork made a tremendous difference.
Now, We Begin the Work of Recovery
Although everyone is safe, the fire has caused extensive smoke and water damage to the laundry room and surrounding first-floor areas. We are currently working with restoration professionals to assess the damage, begin repairs, and get our housekeeping operations back to normal as quickly as possible.
The laundry room is an essential part of our shelter operations. With families living at FUSION, access to working laundry facilities is more than a convenience—it is an important part of maintaining a safe, healthy, and comfortable environment for the families we serve.
As we recover from this unexpected loss, we are asking our community to stand with FUSION once again.
If you would like to help us recover the costs of reconstruction and keep our operations running, please consider making a donation at FUSIONHousing.org/donate.
Every donation, large or small, makes a meaningful difference. Your support helps us continue providing a safe place for families experiencing homelessness while we work to restore our facility.
Thank you to South King County Fire, our residents, our staff, and our incredible community for helping FUSION through this unexpected challenge. We are so grateful.
