Probe finds no suspects in GU fire

The fire that destroyed the $11 million Kennedy Apartment complex at Gonzaga University was “intentionally set,” but Fire Chief Bobby Williams said Wednesday investigators have no suspects.

The arson was reported at 12:05 a.m. March 13, but it may have burned for an hour or more before then, Williams said.

Anyone who saw something late on Sunday night, March 12, near the sprawling, half-block complex under construction at Sharp and Ruby should call investigators, Williams said. A reward may be offered, he said.

Spokane Fire Department investigators, working with those from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and four private insurance companies, have spent 16 days processing the fire scene.

“All of the investigators involved have come to the conclusion the fire was intentionally set,” Williams said at a City Hall press conference Wednesday afternoon.

The chief said investigators had concluded there were “multiple areas of fire origin” in the three-building, 160,000-square-foot complex.

He wouldn’t comment on how many areas were identified as “points of origin,” or say what was used to start the fire.

Natural gas and electricity supply lines had been installed but weren’t activated. The contractor was just days away from turning on a sprinkler system that had been installed.

Williams confirmed that video and still photos provided to investigators helped them conclude the fire was arson.

“Currently, there are no suspects in this case,” Williams said. “Arson is one of the most difficult crimes to prosecute.”

The chief said he couldn’t speculate on a motive but said investigators have no reason to believe that either the university or its private contractors, Walker Construction, “were targeted.”

A private security company, Northwest Protective Service, hired by the contractor, had a security guard on the site. Investigators have not said whether that private guard saw anything suspicious or even reported the fire.

The five-story, U-shaped complex “met all of the building codes but was vulnerable to fire because of the state of construction” it was in, the chief said.

There also is no reason to suspect ecoterrorists, who have claimed responsibility for similar arson fires elsewhere, Williams said.