Woman accused of setting fire to Bellingham manufactured home, convenience store
A 54-year-old woman is in custody after police say she started a residential fire and then used Molotov cocktails to start a second fire in a Bellingham 7-Eleven.
Nicole Ann Bimrose of Bellingham has been charged with first-degree arson, attempted second-degree arson, first-degree burglary and two counts of manufacturing incendiary devices.
Police first arrived at the 7-Eleven on Lakeway Drive just before 12:30 a.m. July 12 and saw Bimrose drinking from a bottle with red liquor while a witness tried to calm her down, according to Lt. Claudia Murphy with The Bellingham Police Department.
An investigation showed Bimrose may have made Molotov cocktails with similar bottles of red liquor and napkins. Police said she may have lit them using a torch lighter and tossed them into the stock room of the 7-Eleven.
Two hours after the incident at 7-Eleven, officers responded to a residential fire along with the Bellingham Fire Department in the 1200 block of Lincoln Street.
There, responders found a man who was outside a residential trailer that had been on fire, Murphy said.
The man told responders he had left the residence around 8:35 p.m. July 11 and returned around 2:45 a.m. July 12. Before he left, Bimrose, with whom he lived, said something along the lines of, “I’ll get you later,” according to Murphy.
The man said Bimrose began having “significant mental health issues” in recent weeks, according to court records, and when he left the trailer, he feared for his life. He said he believed Bimrose intentionally started the fire.
Fire investigators concluded the fire had been burning for a significant amount of time and had destroyed most of the residence, Murphy said. Evidence found at the scene suggested the fire had been started before Bimrose was arrested at 7-Eleven.
Police suspect Bimrose may have started the fire and then made her way to the store a few blocks away, according to Murphy.
The court has ordered Bimrose to undergo a competency evaluation at Whatcom County Jail, where she remains in custody Tuesday. A hearing to discuss her capacity to stand trial is scheduled for July 31.
.jpg)