MARYSVILLE – A man tried to torch his motel room this week in hopes of scaring the people who he thought were trying to kill him, police said.
Instead of burning it, he flooded it.
The motel’s sprinkler system was activated when the Lynden man, 41, reportedly set two fires in his room at the Village Motor Inn in the 200 block of Beach Avenue early Tuesday morning, Marysville Police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said.
Water was pouring through the ceiling into the lobby by the time police got there.
“Somebody seemed pretty determined they were going to light the place on fire, but the sprinkler system did its job,” Marysville fire Capt. David VanBeek said Friday.
Police were called to the motel early Tuesday after the manager reported hearing loud noises in the man’s room. Black smoke poured into the second-floor hallway when officers opened the door to his room.
Firefighters found the man inside the room. He reportedly said he was hiding from people who were trying to kill him, and that he’d tried setting fire to his room to scare them away, Lamoureux said.
The man was taken to Providence Everett Medical Center for a mental evaluation. He admitted using drugs in the days leading up to the incident, Lamoureux said.
Fire, smoke and water damage to the motel was estimated at $150,000.
It could have been worse.
“If the whole thing had burned to the ground, it could have been a couple million dollars of loss,” VanBeek said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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