Fires set in Everett, Lynnwood and Snohomish in the past three months are not connected, investigators say.
Fire investigators from Snohomish County, Everett, Lynnwood and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives met this week to search for links among the fires.
“They are absolutely not related,” Lynnwood fire inspector LeRoy McNulty said Thursday. “The randomness of (the Lynnwood) fires don’t fit the pattern of fires in Everett.”
In addition, arsons in Snohomish are isolated incidents, Snohomish County deputy fire marshal Bruce Pulver said.
Arson destroyed two new homes in Snohomish in April, six dumpsters have been set on fire in Lynnwood since May and a string of small fires were set in north Everett in June.
No arrests have been made in any of the cases.
Everett police are remaining tight-lipped about the investigations, except to agree that the suspicious fires in the three cities are not related.
“They haven’t attributed multiple fires to a single fire starter as a result of the meeting,” Everett Police Sgt. Boyd Bryant said.
Eight small fires have been set in Everett since June 1. Investigators don’t know yet whether the fires were set by the same person.
But police and firefighters say there are similarities between several of the eight fires. At least one is not connected to the rest.
In Lynnwood, police warned store owners after six fires were set in dumpsters behind businesses located on or near 196th Street SW. Many business owners have since cleaned up around their trash bins, and no other fires have been reported, McNulty said.
In Snohomish, investigators are still probing whether the arsons were set by someone connected to the radical environmental group Earth Liberation Front. A note found at the site of one of the fires was signed ELF, but no one has directly claimed responsibility. The fires caused $1 million in damage.
County fire investigators haven’t seen any fires similar to those set in Everett and Lynnwood, Pulver said.
Investigators agreed to keep each other apprised of future suspicious fires, Everett fire inspector Rick Robinson said.
“Then when we get the big tip we’ll be better armed with more precise information,” he said.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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