Cat rescued from apartment fire
Firefighters quickly contained an apartment fire in Browne’s Addition Sunday morning and rescued the tenant’s cat.
The fire started about 10 a.m. in a second-floor unit at 2127 W. Pacific Ave. The tenant, Jason Howell, was not home at the time. A neighbor said she called the fire department after smelling smoke.
No one was injured and the cat, Buddha, appeared to be calm and in good spirits. The cause had not yet been determined.
Damage was minor, but Howell, 34, said he didn’t think he’d be able to return to the apartment.
“The whole place got smoked,” he said.
He said his stereo and bass guitar were likely ruined, but he was grateful that the firefighters’ quick response prevented further damage.
Arson fire destroys Tacoma church
Tacoma An early Sunday morning fire that destroyed the Grace Missionary Baptist Church was intentionally set, the Tacoma Fire Department said.
Investigators labeled the fire as an arson due to evidence of multiple fire starts on the rear exterior of the building, said Deputy Chief Ron Stephens.
The fire caused an estimated $1 million in damage, Stephens said.
No one was injured in the fire reported about 1:45 a.m. Investigators believe an accelerant similar to gasoline was used, Stephens said.
An investigator from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was working with Tacoma police and fire departments to determine if any federal laws had been broken in the fire. No suspects had been named as of Sunday afternoon.
Church members held their Sunday morning service at the home of their pastor, Mike Holcombe. Stephens said several Tacoma churches offered to house the congregation after they heard about the fire.
Minor earthquake reported near Olympia
Olympia A minor earthquake with a magnitude of 3.3 was reported Saturday night 15 miles north of here at 7:37 p.m.
The quake occurred 16 miles below the surface of the Earth, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Brad Frederickson, a staff member at KGY Radio in Olympia, said many people had called the station. “It felt like a small earthquake,” he said.
Stephen Malone, director of the seismology laboratory at the University of Washington, said the quake occurred below the Earth’s surface and was not related to reports of a fireball seen streaking through the night sky at about the same time.
“This has all the characteristics of an earthquake, not something from impact,” he said.
Scientists said the fireball was probably a meteor and likely disintegrated just before any fragments fell into the Pacific Ocean.
Everett honors sailors from Lincoln, Shoup
Everett Hundreds of sailors from the USS Lincoln and USS Shoup marched through downtown Everett Saturday, eight days after they returned from a deployment that was extended after the tsunami devastated southern Asia.
President Bush diverted the aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer just after Christmas, adding another month to their deployment.
The Lincoln and its air wing served as the hub of a relief operation to help victims of the tsunami.
Helicopters from the Lincoln flew hundreds of missions to deliver food, water and other aid along the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
As the sailors marched through town, people thanked them for their service. The sailors, in turn, thanked veterans who served before them.
The community celebration was sponsored by the city of Everett, Snohomish County and the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Everett, Washington Council of the Navy League of the United States.
Food service may return to state ferries
Bremerton Washington state ferries that serve central Puget Sound could have food service again by May, after the ferry system’s largest labor union and the company selected to serve food on the routes reached an agreement.
“We’re pleased. I think it’s going to work for us, the union and the ferry system,” said Larry Little, vice president of Olympic Cascade Services. “Our intent is to try to start before summer, tentatively May.”
The items on the menu will include fair-trade coffee, chowder, pizza, deli sandwiches, cookies and cinnamon rolls, along with other Washington-made goodies.
Olympic Cascade and the Inlandboatman’s Union of the Pacific have been negotiating for almost a year over contract specifics.
“It’s been a long time and folks have been without food on those ferries for well over a year and that’s not good,” Little said.
The IBU claimed Cascade Concessions was required to uphold the same contract as the last company, Sodexho. Cascade Concessions said it couldn’t afford the contract unless some concessions were made.
To spur things along, Washington State Ferries Executive Director Mike Anderson had set a March 18 deadline for an agreement.
To meet the March 18 deadline, Cascade and the IBU needed to firm up an agreement by March 11. The two parties negotiated heavily through last week.
The ferry galleys went dark in December 2003 after Sodexho pulled out of its 10-year contract prematurely, saying it was losing money.