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

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Greenwood Arson Prevention Meeting Goes Over Capacity

Tuesday night’s community meeting about the wave of arsons plaguing Greenwood was so well-attended that the basement of Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church reached capacity. About 15 minutes into the meeting, city councilmember Jean Godden arrived, announcing that 100-150 more people were waiting upstairs. A second meeting took place later, to accommodate all the neighbors who showed up.

Chiefs from the Seattle Police and Seattle Fire Department weren’t able to tell the huge crowd — which included multiple city council members and mayor-elect Mike McGinn — what they came to hear: who might be behind the string of 14 fires set in Greenwood since June. The Police Department doesn’t have a true profile of the arsonist (or arsonists) yet, and they couldn’t say why small businesses seem to be the main targets. Visible and invisible police patrols have been stepped up around the neighborhood, and the fire department also now sends two trucks to every suspected fire, in hopes of catching it early.

Every speaker at the meeting emphasized community involvement in stopping the arsons. All of the fires so far have been set using readily-available combustible materials, and the fire department urged residents and business owners to clear trash from around their buildings. The combustibles in one of the fires apparently came from over a mile away.

The police aren’t discouraging citizen patrols, and they’re asking the community to provide extra eyes and ears. They are discouraging confronting any suspicious people. If you see anything out of the ordinary, call 911 instead. The fire department also addressed rumors about business owners sleeping in their businesses overnight. They strongly advise against it, saying it doesn’t protect your store, and only puts you at risk and makes it harder for firefighters to work.

The Police, Fire Department and mayor’s office all offered resources to help residents who want to do something about the arsons:

For help with dead streetlights or overflowing dumpsters, call the City’s general customer service line at (206) 684-CITY.

There will be a joint Police and Fire webpage with information about the ongoing investigation. Until then, the Police website lists some non-emergency numbers you can call with tips.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Seattle’s Greenwood Fire Was Arson.

The Greenwood Fire which destroyed four Seattle businesses including the Taproot Theatre was declared an arson by the Seattle Fire Department today. Phinneyridge.org first began our reporting on the potential for arson on Sunday, October 25th, in a photo-essay linking the fire to four other arsons in the Greenwood neighborhood. Our hearts to out to the impacted businesses, particularly the Taproot Theatre. The Taproot Theatre confirmed their commitment to the Greenwood neighborhood in a statement released tonight:

Taproot Theatre Company is brokenhearted to learn that the fire that devastated four of our neighboring businesses and damaged our theatre was reported to have been deliberately set. When Taproot Theatre moved into Greenwood, crime in the neighborhood decreased almost immediately. In the years since, we’ve watched Greenwood blossom into a vibrant community that’s focused on the arts, promoting small businesses and protecting the environment—values that we promote, as well, and that represent the spirit of Seattle. Greenwood deserves to have a top-notch theatre in its midst, and we at Taproot Theatre love this neighborhood and will continue bringing people from across the region to Greenwood for years to come.

Over 100 Seattle firefighters bravely fought the blaze for over two hours to contain the damage and protect surrounding buildings, including the PAWS Cat City shelter for felines. The fire began at approximately 4am in the morning on October 23rd.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Taproot Theatre – Greenwood Fire Update

Taproot Theatre staff members continue operations after Friday’s fire, which caused significant damage and left the theatre unusable for an indefinite amount of time. Despite the fire, the theatre held closing weekend performances of Enchanted April, thanks to Seattle Children’s Theatre, which made its facilities available for Saturday’s two performances. The cast gave its first Saturday performance a mere 24 hours after plans to host the shows at SCT were solidified. The cast, crew and director Karen Lund gathered on Friday night to restage the production, staff members were able to retrieve costumes from Taproot’s costume shop, and the show went on to accolades and standing ovations.

Though Friday evening’s performance was canceled, Taproot kept its arrangement to perform the opening scenes of Enchanted April during the afternoon ArtsFund Annual Meeting. In addition, Taproot Theatre’s Road Company, which performs social-issues plays at schools across the Pacific Northwest, performed its afternoon production of Alexander and the Dragon at Oakwood Elementary School in Tacoma.

Taproot Theatre’s Acting Studio is holding all acting classes as usual, though it will find new locations for those normally taught at the theatre.

On these first business days after the fire, Taproot Theatre’s production staff are preparing to move the costume shop, scene shop and production offices, which were previously located in the theatre, to Piper Village. That development’s owner, Gary Brunt, has generously donated space to Taproot Theatre in this interim time.
Taproot Theatre learned today that the fire did enter the theatre building.

As the days go on our gratefulness to the Seattle Fire Department increases. Over 100 firefighters worked tirelessly and risked their lives to protect the theatre on Friday. Formal investigations resumed today and the fire department continues to offer its support.

As the staff works on the next steps, they would like to thank everyone for the incredible support and encouragement—both in the immediate aftermath of the fire and in the present. The Seattle theatre community, especially, has been extraordinarily gracious and generous, along with our neighbors in Greenwood and our patrons. Special thanks go out to Seattle Children’s Theatre, IATSE, Theatre Puget Sound and Gary Brunt.

Those desiring to make donations to Taproot Theatre should visit taproottheatre.org. Donations to the other Greenwood businesses may be made through the Greenwood Fire Relief Fund at Chase Bank at 85th and Greenwood.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Greenwood Fire – Sunday October 25 Update. Arson a possibility?

Scenes from the ongoing cleanup of Seattle’s Greenwood fire on Sunday. The cleanup and rebirth continues for the block and the Taproot Theatre:

Greenwood Area 2009 Arson History – All Close to the Greenwood Fire…:

August 13 – 108 NW 84th Street: Set fire spread to a home at approximately 4:31 p.m. A 50-year old male suffered burns and was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Damage to the home totaled $170,000
August 13 – 1111 N 98th Street: Set fire in a first floor office of a mixed use commercial/residential building at 3:21 a.m. Two occupants of an apartment above the office were able to exit the building safely. Firefighters arrived to find a small fire in the office area on the first floor. Damage to the business totaled $15,000.
August 12 – 7708 Greenwood Ave North:
Fire set on the exterior of a three story residence at 1:33 p.m. There were no people inside the house and the fire was concentrated on the exterior of the building. Damage was estimated at $100.
June 19 – 8733 Greenwood Avenue North:
Fire set in the basement of a vacant and closed restaurant around 10:00 p.m. There were no people inside the building and no injuries as a result of this fire. Damage was estimated at $500.

Huge photo album of Greenwood Fire photos from adrielanna @flickr.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Greenwood Fire Update – Evacuated Cats Return to Shelter

On Sunday afternoon, ten of the cats evacuated from the Greenwood PAWS adoption shelter were returned to the Greenwood, from the Lynnwood temporary facility. Firefighters broke through the front glass of the storefront for PAWS when the Greenwood fire was raging to ensure the safety of the cats at the shelter.

After being temporarily housed at the Lynnwood PAWS shelter, on Sunday ten cats were personally returned to the Greenwood adoption center by the dedicated staff team. You can make a difference for these felines by bringing them into your own safe home.

The rebirth of the area has already begun, with the cats who went through so much stress and trauma being returned to the team and future adoptions. The dedicated staff notes than a few of the cats are sneezing more than normal – perhaps from a heightened sensitivity to the smoke impact of the nearby fire. The cats looked great on our visit and were happy to be back at the adoption center awaiting their trip to a safe and happy future home.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!