TACOMA, Wash. — Two teens are facing arson charges after allegedly starting a fire inside of an abandoned Tacoma middle school, according to Pierce County Juvenile Court documents.
The Tacoma Fire Department responded to Gault Middle School at 1115 E. Division Lane around 4 a.m. on Jan. 3 as flames tore through the roof of the building and smoldered for days. Crews did not enter the building because it had been designated as "dangerous and derelict."
On Wednesday, police arrested three teens in connection to the fire. On Thursday, charges were filed against two of the involved teenagers.
The suspects – a 15-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy – are both charged with first-degree arson and second-degree burglary in Pierce County Juvenile Court. They pleaded not guilty on Thursday and Judge Karen Watson did not order the teens to remain in custody.
KING 5 does not typically name juvenile offenders unless they are charged as adults. Neither of the teens in this case are being charged as adults.
According to court documents, a video of the fire began circulating on social media and local news outlets. In the video, several people are seen inside the abandoned school and a person is seen throwing combustibles into a fire, documents state. The Tacoma Fire Department also received a tip about who started the fire.
Days after the video began to circulate, the mother of one of the people in the video called police and identified her son, who she said had run away from home. The teen had also recently been unenrolled from high school due to absences.
The mother also identified her son’s girlfriend, who she said may have been the one recording the video.
Detectives spoke with a school security specialist who also identified the teenage boy and the voice of the teenage girl in the video.
The teenage girl allegedly told the security specialist that she was inside the middle school when her boyfriend started the fire and jumped through a window to escape. The girl said she recorded the video and said her boyfriend, the teenage boy, started the fire and threw materials on top of it, documents state.
Police arrested the two teenage boys at the girl’s residence in Gig Harbor, while she was arrested at her high school. At the time of his arrest, the teenage boy now facing charges was wearing the same shoes and backpack as seen in the video and was carrying two lighters.
Tacoma Public Schools said in a statement that a demolition permit for the abandoned building was approved by the city of Tacoma in December and was awaiting its final stages before demolition began in February.
Due to the fire, the demolition process has been expedited, according to the school district.
"Tacoma Public Schools will be responsible for partnering with Washington State Department of Labor & Industries on identifying a properly licensed environmental firm to provide a hazards assessment of the site and a separate certified asbestos remediation and removal contractor for site assessment and clean-up, if needed,” the statement reads in part.
Demolition crew equipment is on site and on Monday, an environmental consultant visited the site to review the debris for demolition and disposal.
Tacoma Public Schools said it is “awaiting that report and demolition is expected to restart once the scope of work is determined.”