Attack on Mother Blamed for Fire at Washington Apartment
PACIFIC, Wash. (AP) -- Fire destroyed a small apartment building in this south King County town, leaving four families homeless, and police arrested a young man they said had tried to set his mother on fire.
The fire started around 3 a.m. Sunday and forced four families from their homes, said Jane Montgomery, a Fire Department spokeswoman in this suburb between Seattle and Tacoma. Two people were treated at the scene, one a civilian for smoke inhalation and the other a firefighter for minor injuries.
The man was jailed for investigation of first-degree arson and first-degree attempted manslaughter.
The fourplex was a total loss with damage estimated at $500,000, police Sgt. James Pickett said.
Officers responded to a domestic dispute between the young man and his 21-year-old sister Friday night, after which the man was taken to a hospital to talk to a mental health professional and then returned home, Pickett said.
Investigators believe the man started the fire with lighter fluid and tried to burn his mother early Sunday.
Information from: The News Tribune