Suspicious fires under investigation in Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, Wash. — Officials are investigating three suspicious fires that burned within a few miles of each other in the South Sound over the weekend.

Just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday, West Pierce Fire units arrived at an abandoned house in the 7100 block of 146th Street in Lakewood.

"(There were) probably six fire trucks with all their hoses trying to blast it out. Then once it slowed down, that's when they started beating all the walls out to let the flames out. It was huge,” said neighbor Sharon Farkas.

Neighbors say the house had been abandoned for two years, but was occupied by homeless squatters who fled when flames broke out.  But the fire was just the beginning.

Late Sunday night, another abandoned, boarded-up house nearby erupted in flames.

The fire began in the basement and gutted the house. But as crews were battling that fire, a call came in for yet another fire a half-mile away.

Firefighters found flames shooting out of a boarded-up apartment building.

All three structures in the suspicious fires were believed to be unoccupied and with no utilities.

"It's ridiculous!  People are scared because they don't want their houses to get burned,” said neighbor Derrick Walcott.

The entire block at the apartments has been red-tagged, meaning the building is unsafe to enter.  The area is being cleared for Amtrak rail line construction.  But for now, there are plenty of abandoned places where the homeless are seeking temporary shelter, and fire is a risk.

"Some of the boards had been removed when crews had gotten here, so someone had gotten in,” said West Pierce Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Scot Adams.

Authorities are asking for the public's help and ask anyone who was in the area and saw something suspicious to call 911.

"They’ve got to catch them. They just have to keep an eye out, be vigilant, call it in if you see it,” said neighbor Melissa.

Cox Media Group