LYNNWOOD – A roof fire Sunday at a vacant Lynnwood business could have been a lot worse if witnesses hadn’t called 911, officials said.
It appears the call for help may have spoiled a plan to do much more harm.
Moments before they saw flames, witnesses told police they watched a man throw a bottle of flammable liquid onto the building and then drive away in a white van, said Marybeth O’Leary, a Lynnwood Fire Department spokeswoman.
“It was amazing they were able to see all that and give a good report to the police and call the fire department,” she said. “It turned what could have been a very bad incident into something minor.”
Police are investigating the fire, Lynnwood police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said.
No arrests have been made and police are following leads, she said. Detectives aren’t yet certain if the bottle was a Molotov cocktail or some other type of incendiary device.
The attempted arson was reported about 11:30 a.m. Sunday in the 19700 block of Scriber Lake Road, O’Leary said.
Firefighters were able to douse the flames quickly, limiting damage to the roof, she said. The fire didn’t go into the vacant building.
No one was hurt.
Lynnwood Fire Marshal LeRoy McNulty said the fire caused about $1,000 damage.
“The most positive thing about all this is that witnesses called 911,” Sessions said. “This could have been a lot worse.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
