Overnight open thread – Arsonists Must Die (genghis)

Update: I've removed the e-mail text from the post due to wordiness. Not sure they added much anyway since everything's pretty well summarized in the first (long) paragraph. So ignore the e-mail references.

I hope you (and Ace) will indulge me if I do one post that’s sorta’ personally related, which is a no-no around the HQ. It’s a one-time thing I hope. (also, don’t let it ruin the thread and feel free as always to comment about whatever’s on your minds). I’ll put the story below the fold in case you’re interested. If not, scroll past it and ignore…it’s very long. Also really boring at times.

About 9 a.m. this morning I woke up to the sound of sirens…many many sirens…all of them seemingly stopping in front of my house. I got up & walked out to the front porch and encountered a horrific sight: One of the houses across the street was fully engulfed in flames which were jetting out on all sides like a blowtorch. But it got worse.

It’s an older neighborhood with houses built mostly in the ‘20s. Back then zoning codes were a little less stringent so a lot of these houses are built out almost to the property line, with about 3-4 feet separation. So the house just north of the one where the fire started was also in flames. Just as the F.D. were rolling out hoses and hooking up, the first house apparently went “flash-over” and actually looked like it exploded.

I think I’ll just cut and paste some of the e-mail exchanges I had today below. They tell the tale pretty much. And I need to go help move some of what’s salvageable from the second house to temp. storage facilities since I’m the only one on the block who has a truck. The e-mails below are in reverse order of time, as they always are and more details are drifting in every hour. All are outgoing from me. (and you thought I was long-winded on posts) Here’s a little blurb from the Seattle Times

Luckily, no one was killed and the only injuries were some minor burns and smoke inhalation to the arsonist. But 2 families are now homeless because of the dickhead who started the fire. (All times are Pacific) If you do want to make it a part of the thread, maybe you can talk about where arson sits in relation to other crimes.

Notice: Posted by permission of AceCorp LLC. Please e-mail overnight open thread tips to xgenghisx@gmail.com. Otherwise send tips to Ace.

posted by xgenghisx at 10:03 PM

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