SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating after a car was set on fire in Ballard on Saturday night.
The fire happened in the parking lot of a Safeway on 15th Avenue Northwest.
Firefighters called to the scene determined that the fire was intentionally set.
A resident living in the area captured the fire on video.
The fire comes a day after another fire was set at an abandoned building about 900 feet away.
A man who lives across the street from the fire told KIRO 7 that there was another fire a couple of weeks ago in the same area.
“It’s been close enough that we can smell the smoke in our house. And that’s generally what gets us to come outside is just toxic smoke in our house, and it’s just horrible. My fear would be that it’s going to burn another building down here,” Michael Mahoney said.
Residents said the car that was set on fire had been parked in the parking lot for weeks.
They also said the incident is another reminder of the ongoing issues that have been happening due to a nearby homeless encampment.
“I’m empathetic to the people who have to live on the street. It’s a horrible, horrible situation and I wish the city would do something ... for the root cause of this. But this is not a good solution either, and the way the people who live here have to deal with this. It’s not ideal for anyone,” Mahoney said.
People living in the area told a KIRO 7 reporter that they believe Saturday’s fire is connected to other fires that have occurred in the past.
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