Two fires reported in Lynnwood

Published 10:17 pm Saturday, August 20, 2011

LYNNWOOD — Snohomish County Fire District 1 and the Lynnwood Fire Department responded to two fires in less than a day and less than two miles from each other.

One of the fires is suspected to be arson.

The other left a family of three displaced. That fire was started by spontaneous combustion in a pile of firewood left outside the house.

There were no injuries reported in either fire.

Early Saturday morning, crews of Snohomish County Fire District 1 and Lynnwood Fire Department were called to an unoccupied house on the 15500 block of 48th Street W.

The call was made around 1:27 a.m. and when crews arrived, half of the one-level building was engulfed in flames, spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said.

The Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating this fire as possible arson.

According to witnesses, juveniles were seen in the area at the time the fire started, Hynes said.

The house was in state of disrepair and damaged by previous fires.

“We’ve responded to at least four fires at this house in the past two years,” Hynes said.

It is not believed to be connected to a series of brush fires, believed to be arson, that happened on three different days in the east side of Lynnwood, she said.

Anyone with information about the fire should call 911 or contact the Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office at 425-388-3557.

The second fire, at a two-level house on the 15100 block of 45th Place W., was reported at 3:45 p.m. by a neighbor.

An investigator from the Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire was most likely started by spontaneous combustion in a woodpile near the south end wall of the building.

“We have had fires created by instantaneous combustion before, specially in compost piles,” Hynes said.

The combustion occurred in sawdust generated by a termite infestation in the woodpile, she said.

The fire caused $200,000 in damages, mostly to the second level, and made the residence uninhabitable. A woman, her adult daughter, and two friends were at the residence at the time of the fire.

“They were unaware there was a fire until a neighbor told them,” Hynes said.

The four women, two dogs and two cats evacuated the building uninjured.

A third member of the family was not present at the time. The family has insurance and would spend the night with relatives, Hynes said.

Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@ heraldnet.com.