Searchers Find Body Of Fourth Seattle Firefighter Fire Investigators Still Probe Warehouse Rubble For Evidence

Investigators digging by hand Sunday through the rubble of a burnedout warehouse found the body of the fourth firefighter killed battling the flames.

Remains of three others who died in the Thursday night fire were recovered earlier, but the body of Randall R. Terlicker, 35, a four-year fire department veteran, was not discovered until about 6:45 p.m., said fire department spokeswoman Georgia Taylor.

“I think everyone has a tremendous sense of relief,” Taylor said.

Terlicker’s body was removed about 8 p.m., but investigators planned to return today to continue seeking evidence on the cause of the fire, she said.

Investigators from the city fire and police departments and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also were seeking the cause of the fire. Authorities are treating the case as a possible arson, in part because of threats against the building.

The third body, that of Gregory M. Shoemaker, 43, a 22-year veteran, was found Saturday about 6 p.m., buried under several feet of debris along an interior north wall of the warehouse, Taylor said. The body was removed about two hours later.

The bodies of the two other victims were recovered Friday, also along the interior north wall. They were Lt. Walter D. Kilgore, 45, a 24-year department veteran who headed a hazardous materials response team, and James T. Brown, 25, a three-year veteran. Autopsies were performed but the King County medical examiner’s office said toxicology tests remained to be done before the causes of the deaths would be known.

The four victims were trapped Thursday evening when the floor beneath them collapsed following an explosion as firefighters appeared to be knocking down flames at Mary Pang’s Food Products Inc.

Terlicker’s body was found along the east wall, the same side of the building that firefighters entered, indicating he might have been “a little closer to getting out than the others,” Taylor said.

About 40 investigators were at the scene over the weekend, including photographers, interviewers and those trying to determine the fire cause and reconstruct the scene.

While they wouldn’t provide details, authorities said information came from two sources indicating the fire in the old, 15,400-square-foot warehouse may have been deliberately set.

The Seattle Times reported Sunday that a tip was given Seattle police some time before the fire, and that two local news organizations received phone calls the night of the fire. Those calls provided what appeared to be details about arson threats.

The news organizations, which were not identified, passed the information along to police.

Building owners Harry and Mary Pang said they knew nothing about arson threats.

The couple said they were cooperating fully with investigators.

“We want to answer everything because we have nothing to hide,” Mary Pang said.

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