EVERETT – Neighbors in north Everett fear a serial arsonist is targeting the area after a series of small fires since June 1.
“I wouldn’t say there’s alarm, but there’s concern. Fire is something that really frightens people,” said Lloyd Weller, who lives on Grand Avenue. “We’re on alert, and are watching for suspicious people.”
Investigators don’t know yet whether the fires were set by the same person. But police and firefighters say the method of ignition, time and materials are similar in at least five of the seven fires.
The latest fire, discovered about 12:43 a.m. Saturday between two rental houses in the 2500 block of Grand Avenue, doesn’t appear related, said Everett Sgt. Boyd Bryant.
“It was a different kind, different time and some leads detectives generated” indicate it wasn’t connected, Bryant said.
No one has been arrested in that fire or the previous six, he said.
“I hope they find out who’s responsible fast, because it’s only going to get worse,” said Mary Van Santen, a waitress at the Cookbook Restaurant, where a small fire was set June 3. The fire, set outside the restaurant using some cardboard boxes, damaged the building and a bartender’s car.
“If I lived in Everett, I’d really be on edge,” she said.
Behind the restaurant, James Crow, 19, was helping paint four houses on Lombard Avenue on Monday.
“We’ve made sure the flammable stuff is all picked up,” Crow said, especially the paint, which is locked up at night. “I’m a little more cautious and am paying more attention. I watch out all the time, but even more now.”
Crow, who’s staying with a friend in one of the homes, said he and his neighbors have also cleaned their alleys. That is advice firefighters have repeated often in recent weeks.
Other residents say they’ve cleaned up too.
Weller, who’s a member of the Bayside Neighborhood Association steering committee, said he’s brought in some scrap wood that was out by the alley near his home.
“It’s important to keep our eyes open and stay in contact with our neighbors,” he said, adding that the issue was likely to come up at the next neighborhood association steering meeting.
Some residents said they hadn’t heard about the fires, and others said they weren’t concerned.
“I don’t think they’ll be back,” said Marv Niemela, who lives at the Everett Trailer Park, 819 Broadway.
On June 6, a travel trailer was set on fire there, and two residents were forced to wrap themselves in blankets and jump through the flames to escape.
“If they burn my place down,” Niemela said, “I’ll move somewhere else.”
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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