Suspicious fires at WSU might be arson

For the second time this week, the fire department in Pullman is investigating a suspicious fire that has destroyed a building on the Washington State University campus in their city.

Fire investigators think the fires are too similar to be a coincidence and are investigating whether there might be an arsonist targeting WSU buildings.

Pullman Fire Chief Scott LaVielle says both fires happened early in the morning hours at community buildings used by students who live on campus. The first blaze started around 5a.m. Tuesday May 22nd, and the second fire was reported on Saturday around 3:30a.m.

In both cases, the buildings were fully engulfed in flames within minutes and are now a total loss.

“We have an Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire Arms dog en route. It’s an arson accelerant dog. The reason why, obviously, is because of the pattern of buildings that are alike and because of how quickly these fires have progressed prior to our arrival,” says LaVielle.

While the buildings that were targeted were not occupied at the time, the buildings next to them were full of students. Each community building is part of a student apartment complex at the University.

The fire that started Saturday morning was very close to causing one of those apartment buildings to catch on fire as well. Students inside had to be evacuated.

The Pullman Fire Department and Washington State University Police are coordinating efforts to notify students living on campus about the fires. They also want to make sure all students have working fire detectors and evacuation plans in place.

The Pullman Fire Department says the investigation is ongoing and will update the community as soon as they make any conclusions about the fires.

Listen to Kim Shepard’s interview with Pullman Fire Chief Scott LaVielle