Police in Tacoma are looking for a person they believe started multiple fires in a 24-hour period.
Speaking on behalf of the Tacoma Fire Department, Chelsea Shepherd stated, “”We have concerns that if this pattern continues, eventually someone will get hurt.”
The Tacoma Police Department and Tacoma Fire Department were called to a structure fire on Sunday, July 14, in the 1100 block of Dock Street. The structure was completely destroyed in the fire.
Two further fires in Fife on Sunday night and early Monday morning were followed by four more fires, all on Puyallup Avenue, a few hours later. On Puyallup Avenue, Tacoma fire reported two fires and Tacoma police reported three.
The following times and locations for the fires were provided by Tacoma police:
- The 1100 block of Dock Street in Tacoma on July 14 at 1:27 a.m.
- 7:55 a.m. – Tacoma, 1200 Puyallup Avenue
- 5100 block of Pacific Highway East, Fife, 7:45 p.m.
- July 15, 2:34 a.m. – 12th Street East, 5300 block, Fife
There were no reported injuries. There were two empty buildings in Fife and on Dock Street. Shepherd said that the vacant companies were the source of the other fires.
Don Wilson, a 70-year Tacoma resident, claims that the building on Dock Street had not been occupied for several decades.
Wilson claimed that the building’s outside featured a “beautiful” mural that used vibrant colors to represent empathy.
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“It’s a shame,” Wilson stated.
According to Shepherd, department resources were occupied by the fires on Sunday and Monday for a few hours.
“When we’re responding to a preventable incident like this arson fire, it ties up our resources and that slows us down when responding to someone else’s emergency,” Shepherd stated.
The public is being asked for assistance by the Tacoma Police Arson Unit, and they are urging those who live and work in the vicinity of the fires to check security camera footage for any unusual activity that evening.
Call the Tacoma police at 2066-222-TIPS, or submit a tip to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, if you have any information.
