Residents frustrated with arsons

It was a night of frustration and cooperation as residents and city officials tackled a burning issue in the West Central neighborhood: a 21 percent increase in suspicious fires so far this year over last.

Highlighted by a four-fire night on Aug. 29, the growing problem brought more than 60 neighbors to a meeting at the West Central Community Center on Friday evening. Fire and police officials presented possible safety solutions, but many residents weren’t having it.

“We’re doing everything we can. We’re losing our energy, our health,” said Virginia Kay, an arson victim. “I’m not getting reimbursed. I have to stay up at night to keep us safe.”

Now she’s planning to move from 1907 W. Sharp Ave. because she doesn’t feel safe, she said. Her home was damaged by an arsonist early on Sept. 5, one week after four fires brought all the city’s on-duty firefighters to a five-block radius.

This past Monday morning, an arsonist lit an outdoor pile of household items at 1808 W. College Ave., scorching the outside of the house. Police arrested Christopher Lee Shartle on Friday, and he now faces a charge of first-degree arson, the Spokane Fire Department announced.

But fire officials have said they don’t believe Monday’s arson is connected to the Aug. 29 spree.

This year through August, there were 17 fires – arson or of undetermined cause – in the West Central neighborhood. There were 14 during the same period in 2006, according to SFD numbers.

“We just don’t have the resources to stay out and about in your neighborhood as much as we would like,” Fire Marshal Lisa Jones said Friday about preventing arsons. “We have to work together. That’s the only way we can solve this.”

Fire investigators need to talk with witnesses and compile information. Police need people to report suspicious activity. Christy Hamilton, director of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, recommended people set up and apply for block-watch programs.

Officials passed out block-watch applications and code-enforcement complaint forms on Friday. They are also available at neighborhood COPS stations or downtown at City Hall, said Hamilton.

Many residents, however, wanted to know why police haven’t responded when they’ve called 911 to report suspicious activity. Kay said she believes criminals feel they have a “free pass” in the neighborhood if they vandalize cars, for example, and the police never respond.

Police Sgt. Dennis Walter said patrol officers respond to calls based on a priority system, and reports of suspicious people often are not high on the list.

“I get nervous at night,” said David Johnson, who lives kitty-corner to one of the houses that burned Aug. 29. “It seems like every time I hear a dog bark, I look out the window.”

Bill Koshman owns that kitty-corner house. His solution: Buy a shotgun.

Other neighbors had different answers, such as buying cheap security cameras or lighting their property well. Fire officials recommended reporting building-code violations and cleaning up piles of household items that might serve as makeshift fuel. But many arson victims said their fires were lit with an accelerant, such as gasoline.

Meanwhile, fire officials are paying extra attention to the neighborhood, Jones said. And Walter said police are encouraged to patrol West Central when they’re not too busy.

Friday’s meeting was largely a chance for residents to ask questions and to directly tell officials that they’re concerned – and, in many cases, scared. The authorities listened and said they hope what people told them helps them solve the arsons.

“We got some ideas, we exchanged some information, got contacts,” said Assistant Chief Brian Schaeffer of the SFD. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead.”