EDMONDS – A team of 35 people from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives pulled out chunks of charred ruins Monday from what had been a large condominium under construction in the downtown.
They began to look for clues to what may have caused the huge fire that destroyed the building Saturday.
Officials say they have not found evidence to suggest the controversial building was intentionally set ablaze.
Dan Bates / The Herald
“It’s going to be at least a day or two” before a cause is found, Edmonds police Sgt. Jeff Jones said.
Because the structure is still unstable, a limited number of investigators ventured into the site, said Jeff Fulton, a special agent in charge of ATF’s national response team. More investigators will go into the damaged structure today, he said.
Meanwhile, crew members conducted 20 interviews and expects to complete up to 60 by the time they’re done, Fulton said. They’ve also been poring over videotape and photographs provided by onlookers.
“We’ve made a lot of progress on a scene we haven’t been able to get into a lot,” he said.
Fulton wouldn’t speculate on when a cause could be pinpointed. The crew will likely remain in town for up to four days, he said.
The sentiment toward The Gregory, a 90,000-square-foot retail-condominium complex under construction on Fifth Avenue S. between Walnut and Holly streets, led many curious onlookers to presume arson caused the blaze. The building had been roundly criticized for its size.
But the ATF’s national team was called to investigate because of the size of the scene and not because there was reason to suspect arson, Jones said.
“This scene is far beyond the capability of our fire department and the Seattle ATF office,” Jones said.
The national team also investigated the Oct. 30 fire that destroyed a furniture business in Arlington, said Julianne Marshall, spokeswoman for the Seattle ATF. That fire was ruled arson, but no arrests have been made.
Fires at construction sites have not been uncommon recently. A string of arsons targeted heavy equipment at construction sites in Bothell and Kenmore in the past month. Last year, the Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for fires at several construction sites near Snohomish. No arrests have been made in that case.
Saturday’s Edmonds fire “doesn’t really fit the profile of an ecoterror thing,” Jones said.
The building is in a developed area, while ecoterrorism tends to be aimed at projects that take up open space, he said.
Two years ago, fire destroyed a townhouse building under construction at Sixth Avenue and Bell Street in Edmonds. The cause of that fire never was pinpointed, Edmonds Fire Marshal John Westfall said.
In the latest case, temporary propane heaters were being used in the building to dry sheetrock mud, Jones said. Temporary electrical sources were in use as well, he added.
Nonetheless, Triad Development has employed 24-hour security at its large condominium project at Edmonds’ Point Edwards since its buildings started going up last year, said Ross Woods, executive vice president for Triad.
“We’re always concerned about arson,” Woods said.
He said the company employs a graveyard-shift custodian and security guard, and has added a security guard since Saturday’s fire.
“It’s expensive, but it’s a lot more expensive to have your building burn,” he said.
The monetary loss from Saturday’s fire is estimated at $4 million. Buildings near the fire were not damaged.
Developer Bob Gregg could not be reached for comment.
Fifth Avenue between Walnut and Howell and Walnut street from Fifth to Sixthavenues are still closed and are likely to remain so for a few more days, officials said. Businesses on Fifth Avenue are open and may be reached on foot.
Residents evacuated Saturday from buildings surrounding the scene have returned to their homes.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@ heraldnet.com.
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