SEATTLE — The Seattle Police Department (SPD) arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly setting fire to a construction site in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood Wednesday morning.
The fire was one of two that were intentionally set just blocks apart. The Seattle Fire Department responded to the two structure fires around 3:15 a.m.
One fire was at a building under construction near Highland Dr and Taylor Ave N, and the other fire was near Prospect and 6th Ave at a garage attached to what Seattle Fire described as “a house that appears vacant.”
The suspect is accused of starting the fire at the construction site after witnesses reported seeing the man around 3 a.m. yelling and upending a portable toilet at the site. The witness told police the man appeared to be experiencing some form of crisis.
The SPD said a witness reported seeing the man leave the scene on a scooter just as the flames began rising from the site.
Officers were able to arrest the suspect a short distance away.
Both fires were under control by 4 a.m. The estimated damage to the building under construction is $200,000.
The SPD is investigating whether the same suspect started the second fire in the attached garage.
A KING 5 viewer who shared a video of the fires said police have responded multiple times to remove squatters living in one of the buildings.
No injuries have been reported from Wednesday's fires.
Firefighters also responded to a fire just before 7 a.m. Wednesday at a home on the 2300 block of N 59th St near Green Lake Park. Seattle Fire said it was “likely a wall fire inside the residence.” No one was not home when the fire started, and no injuries have been reported at this time.
It wasn’t just Seattle firefighters who stayed busy overnight as multiple fires were also reported across the Puget Sound region.
The Tukwila Fire Department responded to multiple vehicle fires on the 800 block of Industry Dr around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. The cause of those vehicle fires is also unknown at this time.
Multiple fire departments also responded to a massive three-alarm fire in downtown Olympia around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The large commercial fire started in a five-story building still under construction on Capitol Way N between Thurston Ave NW and Olympia Ave NW, according to the Olympia Fire Department. The fire then spread to at least three other buildings.
Then in Lakewood, West Pierce Fire and Rescue responded to a fire at a vacant building on the 9600 block of Gravelly Lake Drive around 7:20 a.m. The cause of that fire is under investigation.
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