Four blazes likely arson

The West Central neighborhood has been plagued with fires set by arsonists this year, with six by the end of June and four additional suspected arson fires early Wednesday.

“That’s a lot of fires,” said 36-year-old Dan Rooney, whose F-250 truck was destroyed by flames Wednesday. “I’m extremely concerned. I’m very frustrated, angry and irritated.”

The fires, set with burnable items found outside the homes, started just before 1 a.m. with the first reported at 1724 W. Nora. Then Spokane fire crews chased calls to three other locations within the neighborhood – 1902 W. Sharp Ave., 1915 W. Boone and 1908 W. Dean. The blazes eventually required every firefighter on duty to respond to the area.

Spokane fire investigators have several tips regarding suspicious people in the area, but they don’t have any suspects yet for Wednesday’s fires, said Spokane Fire Chief Bobby Williams. No arrests have been made for this year’s earlier fires, either.

Meanwhile, West Central community groups and police volunteers are trying to figure out how to take action.

When she learned about the number of arsons for the year, Mary Fryback, a volunteer with West Central’s Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, said: “Is that all?”

She said she knew there had been several, but she didn’t know how many.

“We know we have a firebug in the area,” Fryback said.

“We (COPS volunteers) talked about it today, but there’s not much us five volunteers can do,” Fryback said Wednesday. “The best thing we can do is alert the neighborhood to what’s going on and ask them to report in any suspicious activity.”

George Craig, chairman for the West Central Neighborhood Council, said members of the group meet with law enforcement members from Spokane’s Gang Enforcement Team.

And while the focus is typically gang activity in the neighborhood, “we are trying to use that as a way of addressing other issues in the neighborhood, as well.”

Victor Frazier, a West Central Community Center board member, also said he hopes the connection with the police task force will help.

Rooney, who left the West Central neighborhood six years ago after being assaulted, moved back in January. He said after the fires on Wednesday he was glad to see “a stepped-up police presence.”

“It would be a welcome change if that happened all the time,” he said.

Spokane fire officials said it’s typical that arson fires become more frequent in the summer, but so many in one neighborhood in eight months is unusual.

“It is concerning, that is for sure,” said Spokane Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer. “To fight it, Spokane Police Department and Spokane Fire Department have to share information and be cooperative towards enforcement, which we have thus far.”

But the difference between the previous blazes set in the neighborhood, and the most recent string of suspected arsons, was the potential that lives could have been lost. Three of the fires were set near the homes’ primary exits.

“It was a willful disregard for people’s lives,” Schaeffer said.