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MUKILTEO, Wash. -- Officials in the Seattle area are investigating a fire that destroyed a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They now say someone deliberately started the blaze.
Fire crews responded to the fire at 3 a.m. in the city of Mukilteo Saturday. When the roof collapsed, firefighters quickly realized they would not be able to get inside to fight the flames, so they took a defensive position.
"They were walking around the building and they could hear movement, which sounded like the roof was going to collapse. They called for a second alarm," said Brian McMahan, assistant fire chief with the Mulkiteo Fire Department.
I'm angry. I'm mad. I'm upset.
–Timothy Berman
"The building has collapsed in the middle and has burned outward through the sides, and collapsed all the way through," McMahan said.
McMahan said investigators collected evidence that led them to conclude arson. "It started on the exterior in the rear of the middle of the building," said McMahan.
The building serves as a meetinghouse for two wards, or roughly 800 members of the Church in the area. Timothy Berman, who attends church in the building said, "I'm angry. I'm mad. I'm upset."
McMahan was not sure of the cause, but says sprinklers would have saved the building from destruction.
"This building was built before sprinklers were required. Sprinklers are designed to keep the fire in check to let firefighters go in and fight a small fire, or at least control the contained fire. With the peaked roof, they need to fight underneath to get the fire out and that's why it continues to burn," he said.
"It's really devastating. This is a place of worship for hundreds of people who come here to worship as they believe. It's just horrible to watch it," said Steven Lee, who attends church at the building.
The church building sits next to a high school, where about 500 students were scheduled to take the PSAT test Saturday morning. The test went on as planned, but some students had to park as far as a mile away due to fire engines and road blocks.
Members are now left wondering why and how someone could do this to a building many consider sacred. "I understand there's not a lot of tolerance for different religions," said member Rebecca Berman. "Just because we don't believe the same doesn't mean we can't live in the same world and that's what bothers me most."
Fire crews worked at the scene until 7 p.m. Saturday night fighting the hot spots.
Story compiled with contributions from Mary Richards and Sarah Dallof.
