Man arrested for alleged apartment fire in Northwest Spokane

A man was arrested Monday afternoon in Northwest Spokane under suspicion of arson, possession of a dangerous weapon and making false statements to police.

Anthony Rungo was arrested outside of Cedar West apartments after allegedly starting a fire in his apartment, according to Spokane police Lt. Terry Preuninger. Spokane fire was first on scene at 2:50 p.m. with five engines and three ladder trucks.

No injuries were reported, and only Rungo’s apartment was damaged, said Chris Maehren, a fire officer at the scene. The fire started from the kitchen stove and spread to the cabinets above it.

Rungo’s next door neighbor Angelia Santiago, 57, stood outside the complex with her son and three grandchildren as firemen were clearing the area.

Santiago said that, in the year she has lived in the apartment building, she and Rungo have been friendly towards one another.

She said he previously had used a hammer to make a hole in the wall connecting their apartments, damaged her door and began texting her random messages.

Right before firefighters arrived on scene and evacuated Santiago and her family, her granddaughter Tailynn Santiago, 19, said that they heard yelling and pacing footsteps from Rungo’s apartment. Angelia Santiago said that Rungo left the complex with a backpack and stood nearby, watching, after reportedly lighting the fire. When they made eye contact, she said he shrugged at her.

“I’m freezing. I can’t believe this is happening,” Angelia Santiago said, rain sprinkling down as the lights from firetrucks flashed behind her. “It just seems like one thing after another.”

While Santiago had to spend the night with family due to her door being damaged during the fire response, her apartment was otherwise unharmed.

In 2014, Rungo was charged with possession and intent to distribute methamphetamine, according to previous Spokesman-Review reports.