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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Homeless man set afire


Spokane firefighter Andrew Bessmer examines what remains of the wheelchair of a homeless man who was badly burned Friday afternoon. 
 (Holly Pickett / The Spokesman-Review)

A homeless amputee who was set ablaze while sleeping in his wheelchair in downtown Spokane was fighting for his life Friday night at a Seattle hospital.

Two men suspected of igniting Doug Dawson, 50, for no apparent reason are being held at the Spokane County Jail. Police say the pair had robbed a woman nearby a short time earlier.

“We don’t know what their motive was, whether it was a diversion from the robbery or if they’re just bad people,” said Spokane police Sgt. Joe Peterson.

Emergency dispatchers were notified of the robbery near the 100 block of South Washington Street at 12:09 p.m. The call about Dawson was made at 12:26 p.m.

Dawson was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment of severe burns to his hands, thighs, groin area and the back of his leg, fire and police officials said. Police expect to charge the two men – Sean Knold, 23, of Seattle, and Matt Tramell, 22, of Portland – with murder or attempted murder, Peterson said. Knold and Tramell were captured Friday after police responded to South Washington Street on the robbery report.

Police suspect the two men robbed a woman, then ran behind a building where Dawson was sleeping in his wheelchair and were continuing to flee the area when police stopped them.

At first, police thought Dawson had dropped a cigarette in his lap. But a cigarette wouldn’t have burned hot enough to disintegrate a wheelchair, police and fire officials realized. When detectives interviewed the two men about the robbery, police said, they made statements connecting themselves to the blaze.

Dawson has been homeless at least three years, said Dave Bilsland, who calls himself an advocate for the homeless. He described Dawson as a decent man with a drinking problem, adding that Dawson hadn’t been drinking Thursday night or Friday morning.

“He gets a bit ornery, but not enough to cause anyone to do this,” Bilsland said.

Spokane firefighters were on a first name basis with Dawson, who has one leg and often was hospitalized for various health problems, Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said. A Fire Department physician was working with Dawson.

The 50-year-old amputee had often stayed at the House of Charity, but when he was released from a hospital Thursday night he couldn’t get into a shelter because he arrived too late, Bilsland said.

He suggested that Dawson sleep behind the building at 151 S. Washington and made him a sandwich.

Friday morning Bilsland returned to check on Dawson and help him get some clothes and blankets. Dawson was still wearing blue hospital scrubs.

The two men had a cigarette together, then Bilsland left.

About 45 minutes later, Ed Meadows was leaving the Democratic Coordinating Committee’s office on South Washington Street when he saw smoke billowing out from behind it and heard a man moaning “help me,” he said.

“He’d made it out of the wheelchair,” Meadows said. “He’d have been dead for sure if he had still been in it.”

Dawson’s hands were severely burned, apparently from lifting himself out of the chair, fire officials said.