No cause determined in Harris Avenue fire after four-month investigation

After a months-long investigation into the Harris Avenue fire that destroyed the historic Terminal Building in Bellingham and killed one person, fire officials announced they are unable to determine the cause of the fire.

However, the final report, released by the Bellingham Fire Department, did determine that the fire started on the cafe side of the building near the kitchen and serving area.

“However, due to the amount of of damage from the fire and subsequent search, our investigators were not able to locate the exact point of origin or determine the cause,” said Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Hewett in an email to The Bellingham Herald.

The report determined a total property loss of $1.5 million and a total content loss of $200,000.

The fire burned down the historical Terminal Building in Fairhaven, home of the Harris Avenue Cafe and The Old Independent Coffeehouse, leading to the death of the restaurant’s owner, Nathaniel Breaux, 39.

Firefighters arrived at the fire around 11:58 p.m. Dec. 16 to find flames shooting out the first-floor windows and reaching up to the second floor. Fire crews battled the blaze through the night.

Breaux was originally reported as missing after the fire. It could not be confirmed whether he was inside for more than a week while crews worked to safely dismantle the building. His body was eventually discovered on Dec. 26.

Breaux’s family created a GoFundMe to name a mountain bike trail at Galbraith Mountain in Breaux’s honor.

Belinda Breaux, Nathaniel’s mother, told The Herald that Breaux loved mountain biking and was proud to be a part of the Fairhaven and Bellingham community. He was looking forward to taking his daughter mountain biking when she was older. He was already taking her biking on easy trails with a child seat on his bike, she said.