Two Bellevue businesses were displaced Tuesday night when a fire heavily damaged an office building in the 14000 block of Northeast Eighth Street.

An occupant in one of the offices at Bellevue East Office called 911 Tuesday evening and reported an acrid smell coming from the laundry room on the first floor of a two-story building. The occupant described a paint-like smell that increasing in intensity for nearly 20 minutes and that he found a light haze in the laundry room. 

Bellevue firefighters arrived in six minutes to find heavy fire on the east side of the building. The fire quickly traveled through the floor joists, up the walls and into the attic. It took 40 minutes for the firefighters to control the blaze. No firefighter injuries were reported.

The building did not have a sprinkler system and the occupant did not hear a smoke detector on the first or second floor.

Crews remained on scene, putting out hot spots, through the morning hours. Fire investigators began their search for an origin and cause Wednesday morning.

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