Tacoma police need your help to solve Sunday serial arson spree

TACOMA, Wash. — The Tacoma Police Department is asking for help finding the person or people responsible for intentionally setting six fires.

The fires occurred within a matter of hours of each other. The first happened early Sunday morning on Dock Street. Next, Tacoma Fire responded to three more fires on Puyallup Avenue in Tacoma. And hours later they responded to two more fires in Fife.

“When we’re responding to preventable incidents like this arson fire, it ties up our resources and that slows us down to responding to someone else’s emergency,” Chelsea Shepherd, the public information officer for Tacoma Fire, said.

At this point no one has been hurt and all of the buildings were either vacant or not occupied at the time of the fires.

“We have concerns that if this pattern continues, that eventually someone will get hurt,” Shepherd said.

Tacoma Police said they’re warning business owners in these areas to be vigilant.

“What we are afraid of is that whoever is doing this may continue this spree and it’s very possible that fire could spread to the vegetation, it could affect some of the houseless people that we have that are in our community,” Detective William Muse, of TPD, said. “If you have flammable material, cardboard boxes, wood, anything that catches fire easily, we ask that you secure that inside your businesses or inside the fence property of your businesses we’re afraid that might encourage people to start to burn that material and possibly start fires.” If you have any information on who is responsible, contact the Tacoma Police Department.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Tacoma Police or Crime Stoppers.

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