A Lynnwood motel fire Sunday morning, Aug. 10 was intentionally set by a woman who apparently thought starting the fire would make it easier for her to get financial aid from the American Red Cross.
The fire, a the Lynnwood Motor Inn, 18109 Highway 99, started around 9:30 a.m. Fire crews arrived to find smoke coming from the building.
“Most of the damage was smoke-related,” said Lynnwood Fire Department spokeswoman Marybeth O’Leary. “The fire damage was contained mostly in the initial unit.”
Fire investigators estimated the fire caused $150,000 in damage to contents and another $250,000 in damage to the building. Guests of the motel, some of whom pay weekly rental fees, were displaced, O’Leary said.
Firefighters rescued a man from the top floor of the motel. Paramedics took three motel residents to Stevens Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. They were released the same day, said Lynnwood Police Spokeswoman Shannon Sessions.
Further investigation by fire inspector Jerry Job revealed that a 30-year-old woman, who’d been living for a week in the unit that caught fire, said she believed she would be able to collect crisis management financial assistance from the American Red Cross by starting the fire.
She was arrested and booked into jail early Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 12. Police continue to examine her past for any similar incidents, Sessions said.
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