Greenwood Arson Community Meeting Packs the House

Concerned Greenwood neighborhood residents packed the Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church this evening for a community meeting with city fire and police officials on the string of arson fires plaguing the community. The latest of these fires occurred late Sunday night, and early Monday morning, bringing the total to 14 since last June.

Assistant Fire Chief A.D. Vickery and representatives of the Seattle police department briefed the crowded room about the status of the investigation and answered community members’ questions about how to protect their homes and businesses.

A cooperative task force—the joint effort of police, fire, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) officials are conducting nightly patrols in the neighborhood, looking for suspicious activity. They’re encouraging local residents to help in the investigation and report any out of the ordinary behavior by calling 911, the Crime Stopper phone line (1-800-222-TIPS), or the Arson hotline (1-800-55-ARSON). The city is also in the midst of constructing a new webpage to coordinate the arson investigation between the Seattle Fire and Police Departments.

There is currently a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arsonist’s capture. The Greenwood neighborhood Taproot theater, itself a recent victim of one of the fires, donated $15,000 of its insurance money towards the fund.

Chief Vickery had a number of concrete recommendations for residents to decrease their fire risk such as removing combustible materials from outdoor recycling bins, and making sure all fire alarms and extinguishers were in working order. People can contact the fire department for additional fire alarm instillation if needed, he reminded the audience.

People should also contact the city to report potential fire hazards such as abandoned buildings, or overflowing dumpsters (206-386-1450), or to get streetlights replaced in darkened areas (206-684-CITY).

Vickery cautioned local business owners against sleeping in their businesses. He warned that many fire-related deaths result from smoke inhalation, which would be an increased risk to someone sleeping in a building an arsonist targeted.

During the question and answer period, the Seattle police department said they did not have a working profile of the individual or group of individuals perpetrating the fires. Chillingly, one audience member raised his hand to suggest that the arsonist was likely in the audience. Vickery responded by encouraging community members to adopt an attitude of trust towards one another, while remaining vigilant.

Another audience member announced that people looking to make donations to businesses impacted by the fires could contact the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce, or make donations directly through a relief fund at the Chase Bank on 8500 Greenwood Ave.

When the meeting ended, officials headed upstairs to the church sanctuary where an additional 100-150 community members who could not fit in the downstairs briefing room were waiting for information.

By: Alicia Craven

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