Fires storm Seattle

Seattle police have named arson as the cause of 12 of the 13 fires that have blazed through North Seattle since Saturday afternoon.

The fires have hit targets ranging from a cafe on Lake City Way Northeast to the back of a pickup truck parked in an alley on the 5200 block of 16th Avenue Northeast.

The largest of these fires struck a condominium complex under construction, resulting in $3 million in damage. That fire has yet to be ruled an arson.

Causing less damage was a fire set to the garage of a U-District boardinghouse just north of Greek Row.

Dan, who did not wish to give his last name, is a resident of the house that was set ablaze on the 5200 block of 17th Avenue Northeast just after midnight Tuesday morning. He credits quick thinking and a five-minute fire-department response time with saving the lives of the approximately 20 residents of the house. The house, which Dan described as low-income, transitional housing, is home to no University students.

"Some people grabbed their stuff out of their rooms," said Dan, who was the first in his house to notice the flames from the window of his top-floor unit. "There were two cats that no one could find. We didn't know how bad it would be, living in such an old house."

There were no batteries in the house's smoke detectors and a door connected the garage and the living space, fire officials said.

According to Dan, the fire began when refuse located in the doorless garage was ignited. The fire resulted in damage to the house's electrical systems and resulted in in a power outage that lasted around 20 hours, he said.

As a result of these arsons, an elite team of forensics experts has been sent to examine the scenes of the fires. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent the 24-member team, whose experience ranges from the World Trade Center attacks to the Oklahoma City bombing.

A $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the blazes.