Investigators: Arson suspect thought cell phone thief lived in building

One man is in jail after an arson fire that ravaged a small building Thursday morning on North Monroe Street, leaving several tenants without a home. Firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire just after 3 a.m. at 2419 N. Monroe St. near Jackson Avenue. The building contains a small office space for an appliance business. Five people, including a 1-year-old child, live in apartments in the back. Fire investigators initially interviewed John Hauflin, 23, as a witness and determined his story didn’t add up. After further questioning, Hauflin confessed that he started the fire by lighting some used diapers he found in a trash can outside. According to court documents, Hauflin told investigators he was mad that someone had stolen his cell phone while he was sleeping at a nearby bus stop. He thought the alleged thief lived in the building and retaliated by starting the fire. Regretting his decision, he called 911 from a nearby gas station. Hauflin is charged with first-degree arson. He is being held in the Spokane County Jail on a $35,000 bond. “My only question is: Why have they only charged him with arson, when they should have charged him with attempted murder and child endangerment?” said John Schmidt, 39, who lived in the building. “He saw there was diapers in the trashcan, so he must have known there was a child in the house.” Doug Schultz, 24, who lived in one of the apartments with his girlfriend, Karen Eslick, 21, said he awoke to find the front of the building engulfed in flames. The couple tried to extinguish the fire with a bucket of water, but couldn’t put it out. The front door was blocked by the flames, so they escaped through a window of their one-story home. “I jumped out of this window and Doug handed me the baby, and then he climbed out too,” Eslick said. The couple were concerned about the smoke hurting their baby, Amaura, but expect her to be OK, they said. Jerry Roberts, 58, bought the building about 10 years ago as a place to do paperwork for his business, Almar Appliance Services. Roberts said he’s glad the building remained intact enough to protect his tenants. “Over the last 10 years I’ve remodeled this place, all new sewer, all new plumbing — and a good firewall in front of the apartments,” he said. The roof near the front of the building collapsed in the fire. Firefighters at the scene said the entire roof will need to be replaced, but much of the building should survive.