BELLINGHAM, WA (KGMI.COM) – A two alarm fire destroyed the historic building that held Fairhaven’s Harris Avenue Cafe, The Old Independent Coffeehouse, and second floor offices.

 

The cafe’s owner, 39-year-old Nathaniel V. Breaux, is confirmed to be missing according to City of Bellingham Communications Director Janice Keller.

 

Bellingham Fire (BFD) Chief Bill Hewitt says the call came in just before midnight Saturday and crews found heavy fire coming from the front of the building. The BFD attempted to enter the building to fight the flames but had to retreat as the upper floor threatened to collapse. They fought the fire with water from the outside and worked to protect an adjacent building.

The fire was brought under control at about 3:30 a.m. The building was then deemed unstable, and inspectors are unable to enter to determine where the fire started and an exact cause.

They are currently using drones to inspect the damage and will be working to stabilize the structure.

The City of Bellingham says the building was constructed in 1888 and was the oldest surviving continuously occupied commercial building in Fairhaven.

The building and its immediate perimeter are fenced off, but Harris Avenue and 11th Street in Fairhaven are open to traffic. Most neighboring businesses are open but the Dirty Dan Harris Steakhouse in the adjacent building says on social media that they will be closed until further notice.

A GoFundMe campaign has started for the employees of Harris Ave Cafe and “The Old Indy.”

Currently, nearly $40,000 has been raised out of their $70,000 goal.

A separate GoFundMe was also started for Dirty Dan’s Steakhouse employees.

Nearly $2,000 has been raised for the steakhouse employees out of their $7,500 goal.

 

Updated: 12/18/2023 at 4:25 pm