String of Bellingham fires within two blocks of each other being investigated as arson
Bellingham Police and Fire investigators are looking into a string of fires early Thursday in the Sunnyland neighborhood that appear to be arson.
Firefighters were called at 3:36 a.m. to the 2100 block of King Street near Hardware Sales for the report of a structure fire, according to the PulsePoint application. Less than a half hour later, at 4:01 a.m., they were called to a second structure fire in the 2300 block of King Street near Trader Joe’s.
Nobody was injured or displaced in either fire, which were started outside non-residential structures, Captain Dustin Michaelis told The Bellingham Herald.
But fire investigators found evidence a third fire had been attempted between the two addresses, Michaelis said.
“We’re calling them intentional,” Michaelis told The Herald. “They are likely connected, but they’re all still under investigation.”
The first fire in the 2100 block of King was started outside a shed, Pethick reported, and firefighters were able to extinguish it quickly. Michaelis estimated the damage was approximately $5,000.
The second fire in the 2300 block of King was “very similar” to the first, Michaelis said, and it was started outside what was described as a music studio that had musical instruments in it. That fire also caused an estimated $5,000 in damage.
The third attempted fire that was found by investigators also was outside a non-residential structure, Michaelis said.
A police K9 unit was called to the area, but Michaelis said he had not heard that the search produced any results. The Herald has asked the Bellingham Police Department for more information on its investigation.
This story was originally published June 30, 2022 at 9:16 AM.
