Funeral Home, House Fire Called Intentional, Seattle Investigators Say
Seattle police and fire officials say two buildings, including a well-known funeral home, were intentionally set on fire early Wednesday in less than an hour and about a mile apart in Seattle's Mount Baker and Columbia City neighborhoods.
Seattle police spokesperson Detective Eric Muñoz said it's too early to tell whether there's a connection between the two fires, which burned through the Columbia Funeral Home and Crematory and a Mount Baker house under construction.
No injuries were reported in either fire, according to the Seattle Fire Department.
Someone called 911 at 3:46 a.m. to report the fire at the funeral home on Rainier Avenue South and South Alaska Street. The fire had spread through the building by the time firefighters arrived, said department spokesperson Kristin Hanson.
Seattle police are investigating and are searching for a person who was seen in surveillance-camera footage walking up to the funeral home and setting it on fire, Muñoz said.
We've determined it was an arson," Muñoz said. "There's clear video surveillance footage and evidence that this was an intentionally set fire."
Another person called 911 at 4:20 a.m. to report a fire inside a house that was under construction near 33rd Avenue South and South Hanford Street, about a mile north of the funeral home, according to the Fire Department.
Firefighters extinguished both fires by 5:30 a.m. The fires caused an estimated $300,000 in damage to the funeral home and $50,000 in damage to the Mount Baker house, according to the Fire Department.
The funeral home is contacting “every family whose loved one was in (their) care,” and is coordinating with other funeral homes to ensure “every loved one continues to receive the respectful and dignified care they deserve, according to an emailed statement from the business.
“We understand the trust placed in us during times of loss,” the statement said. “While our historic building may be destroyed, our staff, the heart of who we are, remain available to serve.”
The funeral home has been open at that location since 1907, and attracts thousands of people each year to the neighborhood for their annual Christmas display, according to its website.
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