A continent-wide spree by an unidentified mastermind is just too fantastic to make a good cover up. Aliases: None Known Investigators believe that the man was the arsonist and that he had set the fire and waited until crowds gathered before he walked away from the scene. On March 25, 1990, the Seattle Fire Department set a test fire in an empty shopping center; the entire complex was destroyed within minutes. Tragically, Matt's body was found in the rubble the next day. Thirty-two-year-old Matt Johnson and his partner Bill Meredith were two of the first firefighters inside the building. Some electrical power apparently remained in the building as well, which could have caused the observed pyrotechnics, the report said. 110. Learn more about this supplier. The ATF study, which also has not been made public, studied Blackstock and 24 other possible HTA fires. Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location. The officer, Battalion Chief Paul Hargrove, then listed Meredith and the man he thought was his partner as safely out of the building, the report says. And I'm a big fan of Unsolved Mysteries and I've wanted to write about some of the more interesting segments for a while. On appeal, an independent investigator found there was never any arson, the fire had started accidentally from a pile of straw in the church's basement. On March 1, the state Department of Labor and Industries announced that it was citing and fining the Seattle department $102,400 in connection with the Sept. 9 Blackstock fire. /F1.0 8 0 R >> >> Fowler passed away in 2016 at the age of seventy-six. Results: Unresolved. The fire was so intense that it melted concrete and warped steel beams. Four other firefighters suffered minor burns and a fifth sustained a minor neck injury. The property encompasses approximately 3 acres, and is bounded by Elliott Avenue to the east, Burlington Northern Railroad tracks to the west, and commercial/light industrial businesses to the north and south. A 63-page fire department report said the fire at the Mary Pang Food Products warehouse [Read More], SEATTLE (AP) -- Lawsuits have been filed by relatives of two of the four firefighters who died in a burning warehouse against the man charged with torching the building. Between the time the van was put into service Dec. 17, 1971, and the time of the Blackstock fire, the van had been taken to fewer than 15 fires. Was itas Matt Johnsons family argueda coverup to hide failures at the Seattle Fire Department? Blackstock Lumber Co Inc. Lumber Plywood & Veneers. Details: The Seattle Police Department is searching for the person or persons who may have set fire to the lumberyard Blackstock Lumber Company in Seattle on September 9, 1989. There was at least an awareness but I'm not sure to what extent. Wednesday, it appealed the latest citations to Labor and Industries, saying its findings were based largely on investigators' misunderstanding of firefighting policies and procedures. Copyright 2023, The Spokesman-Review | Community Guidelines | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy, Spokane Valley Fire roundup: Multiple engines, water tenders fight rural home blaze in Otis Orchards, Downtown Spokane stadium groundbreaking set for Tuesday , Pandemic project: Dental lab owner Robert Carnell paints pop art abstracts of celebrities , Gardening: Bird feeders safe to hang this winter after salmonella epidemic in 2020 , Pandemic projects: Retired Freeman High School teacher self-publishes Welsh mystery series , State 4A/3A boys: No. Jim Blackstock, co-owner of the lumber company, said he was visited about three months ago by an ATF agent who indicated officials no longer believed the fire was arson. With the help of a group of chemists, the Fowler team identified a handful of possible candidates for the mystery fuel. SEATTLE The Blackstock lumber yard at 1039 Elliott Ave. W. has sold for $7.5 million, according to King County records. Marmor ist de Willkommen bei Baustark aus Wiesbaden Painters Equipment & Supplies, View supplier info & more! At his trial, Keller admitted to setting the fires, including at least one which was attributed to the King of Arsonists. At yesterday's press conference, Harris said, ``The communication between the firefighters and officers at the scene of the Blackstock fire was not as effective as it could have been and contributed to a breakdown in the transfer of information. After testimony from Fowler, a church council member named George Dever was convicted of arson and manslaughter. 5 0 obj Or was there a more sinister reason behind the creation of the King? Johnson's body was not found until 1 a.m. 6 The lieutenant and a firefighter advanced a handline into an exposure building, when conditions rapidly deteriorated. Fire Chief Claude Harris and other fire officials spent the night with families of the missing firefighters, Taylor said. Investigators now say the cause is undetermined. The department appealed the 1987 findings to King County Superior Court. "That new information came to light and they re-evaluated their findings," Taylor said. Behind the house the land pitched sharply to the fast-running Tyger River on the north and northeast. One man was from Illinois and had a criminal history that included being hired as a professional arsonist. It generated temperatures between 5000 and 7000 degrees, three times hotter than a normal fire. Its always amazing in these situations how one investigator is able to go so far, basically unchecked. Asked during a press conference yesterday whether he felt the state and national reports essentially came to the same conclusions, Chief Harris said: ``I don't feel they were similar. back to Schedule. 9:23 Deputy Chief Rod Bower arrives, directs aggressive attack from outside and inside the building. If Fowlers King of Arsonists theory was correct, the fire would have been burning hot from the outset. However, an arson investigator named Dennis Fowler soon claimed that patterns seen in the rubble of the fire were reminiscent of a 1984 fire at the nearby Carpet Exchange Warehouse. 9:26 Battalion Chief Paul Hargrove, commanding front of building, not told of Bower's strategy, assumes attack will be on interior. Carman reported that, even though buckets of fuel were placed around support columns [of the shopping center] with the intent of maximizing damage, the building suffered no collapse and the fire didnt even burn through the ceiling. Pang is aware that a team of federal agents and an [Read More], Plea may be in works for Pang SEATTLE -- A plea agreement may be in the works for Martin Pang, accused of setting a 1995 warehouse blaze in which four Seattle firefighters died, including James T. Brown, 25, of Port Orchard. All Farrar would say about the surveillance was, "agencies were involved. The NFPA report said the Blackstock fire was similar to a 1987 abandoned building fire in Detroit. A third fine, for $2,400, was for not training two firefighters on breathing equipment used at the fire. Houzz Pro: One simple solution for contractors and design pros, Answer a few questions and well put you in touch with pros who can help, Select your project type, answer a few questions, and let Houzz connect you to pros right away. endobj The former Blackstock Lumber Company building previously occupied the central portion of the property, with a railroad spur located along the west side of the building footprint. The report also, for the first time, said Johnson and his partner were partly responsible for the tragedy. Paul Harvey, president of Firefighters Union Local 17, and Battalion Chief Scott McEwen, president of the Seattle Fire Chiefs Association, representing 23 battalion and deputy chiefs, said they did not have a copy of the NFPA report and could not comment. Interest in the King of Arsonists began after the Blackstock Lumber Company fire of September 9, 1989. But although the report classifies Blackstock as unlikely to be an HTA fire, it also cautions that conclusions dismissing the possibility that flammable liquids had been used as the primary accelerant seem unfounded.. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. Die Hber Baufachmrkte in Niederelbert und Lahnstein sind Ihre Bei Raab Karcher erhalten professionelle und private Kunden Baustoffe fr jeden Baubedarf und fr jede Grenordnu Flexibler Marmorstein The Seattle Lumber Experts Seattle Location (206) 623-5010 1919 4th Avenue SouthSeattle, WA98134 Products & Materials | Millwork, Shop Builders : Roofing, Paving and construction services. Investigators. Mary Pang, who with her husband, Harry, owns the business, said no employees were inside when the fire broke out. A Hart-Crowser Phase I Environmental Assessment (1989) identified previous occupants of the property including the Seattle Lumber Company (1910's to 1930's . [citation needed] Said the report: In both incidents, the report says, officers sizing up the fires misjudged their severity and sent crews inside. (Article in Seattle Times) The re-investigation came up with another possible reason that the fire might have looked suspicious: a 440-volt electrical line was still connected to a live power panel as the fire raged, and could have been the source of sparks and enormous heat. A recent study by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms concludes that many fires believed to have been started by high-temperature accelerants, such as rocket fuel, were not set with space-age flammables, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Wednesday in a copyright story. In doing more research on Fowler I found another interesting case. September 10, 1989 SEATTLE (AP) _ A spectacular four-alarm blaze destroyed an old lumber yard building near the waterfront, shooting flames 60 feet in the air that were visible from some areas across Puget Sound. YEARS IN BUSINESS (206) 284-1313. Janitors Equipment & Supplies, un materiale largamente utilizzato Das Unternehmen Holz in Haus und Garten wurde im Jahr 2009 gegrndet. 11:12 Deputy Chief Richard Colombi, in staging area, told something is wrong, given Johnson's radio, says Johnson will show up. The state said we had no accountability system, and we have one.''. Get Blackstock Lumber Co. Inc reviews, rating, hours, phone number, directions and more. When the first truck arrived, the fire appeared to be controllable. Hargrove misidentifies helmet number on firefighter helping Meredith, thinks they are partners and jots down that they are out of the building safely. Blackstock Lumber Co Inc is located in Seattle, WA. https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Seattle_Arsonist. The city fire department set up a tracking system for firefighters after the Blackstock fire. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Two other firefighters were taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of heat exhaustion, Bhang said. Known organization president is James Blackstock. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, "just about everything we thought we knew about arson is wrong". Darrell Johnson, father of the fallen firefighter, said he thinks the claims of arson and high-temperature accelerants in the Blackstock fire were used by the fire department to cover up it's inability to determine the true cause of the fire and divert attention from how the department fought the Blackstock fire. Finally, a 440-volt electrical line still connected to a live power panel is believed to have helped spread the fire and cause sparks and "pyrotechnics" seen by witnesses. With the witnesses providing two very different descriptions, investigators felt that one of the suspects might be the King, and the other might be the person hired to start the fire. Investigator Dennis Fowler, however, discovered a pattern in the ruins that matched the signature of a serial arsonist that he had been tracking for years. The four-alarm fire had spread throughout the lumberyard and became one of the biggest fires in recent Seattle history. << /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text ] /ColorSpace << /Cs1 7 0 R >> /Font << /F2.0 9 0 R Get breaking news delivered to your inbox as it happens. The segment on several fires which destroyed businesses in the Seattle area featured interviews from Seattle fire officials and arson investigators who dubbed the perpetrator of these fires the King of Arsonists. Fasteners-Industrial, Fowler retired in 1992, just before the Unsolved Mysteries episode aired, and he passed away in 2016. The King allegedly used homemade accelerants to make his fires burn much hotter than a typical building fireup to an astonishing 7000 degrees Fahrenheit. In retrospect some of his findings seem ludicrouseven fires started by rocket fuel dont reach 7000 degrees, for exampleor at best a stretch (his claim that the arsonist hired someone else to set the fires never appeared to have any evidentiary basis). The roof had exploded while they were inside; both Matt and Bill were overcome by an intense heat. It was basically an abandoned shell of a building, he said. Hard to tell if Dennis was power crazy, or well-intentioned but flawed. The report explains that numerous failures led to the breakdown of the department's system of accounting for firefighters. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. The study concludes Blackstock was probably not an HTA fire, the P-I reported. Johnson said her daughter-in-law, Esther, Matthew Johnson's widow, was following the advice of her attorney and would make no comment. The shopping center also was not destroyed by the fire, as Fowler had claimed. This unidentified arsonist has been connected to over twenty fires in and around Seattle. Witnesses also reported seeing pyrotechnics similar to fireworks, another sign of an HTA blaze. Originally, he was thought to be the arsonist. g,6:nnvp{S1SrIX+zEqG*^ B~^ivk^-zf0OvdS:@:IvXt*%NenH2E5+{tpi;=jv^f?C?3i9FbV3^RS 9NZ2[D.Ka{tk{u[H6?^?rHQJb8Fe8{)$+l4[DQ+4QrU=C +Rwl-E}W,`nLU}}Q6gv{qwk There has been only one confirmed HTA fire, and the study identified only four potential ones, which did not include Blackstock, said ATF special agent Steve Carman, who wrote the study. Bill became lost and disoriented in the fire but was eventually able to escape. So what led Fowler and his team to push the King of Arsonists theory? The building was old, featured a great deal of wood construction and contained a number of fuels, such as ammonia and other refrigerants, Taylor said. It appears, then, that there is ample evidence that The King of Arsonists was really just a ghost. The subject property is located at 545 to 631 Elliott Avenue West, in Seattle, Washington. Some firefighters were shooting water on the exterior while Johnson and Meredith, inside the building, moved toward the same area. Electric Companies, View supplier info & more! << /Length 11 0 R /N 3 /Alternate /DeviceRGB /Filter /FlateDecode >> Die MHI NATURSTEIN & BAUSTOFFSERVICE GMBH mit Sitz in Wchtersbach (Main-Kinzig-Kreis) ist eine 100%-ige Tochter d Herzlich Willkommen bei Ihrem Hber Baufachhandel "That's nice to know,. Geschftsinhaber ist Tobias Bienefeld, geler Wir sind Ihr kompetenter Baustoff-Fachhandel im Rhein-Main Gebiet. There wasnt any insurance on the building, water had been turned off. Four firefighters were taken to Harborview Medical Center with neck, ear, face and arm burns, hospital spokeswoman Pam Love said. 5 customer reviews of Blackstock Lumber Co.. One of the best Furniture Stores, Retail business at 1039 Elliott Ave W, Seattle WA, 98119 United States. After trying unsuccessfully to find their way out, the officer began calling for help on his portable radio. Labor and Industries fined the Fire Department, saying it had failed to protect its firefighters. One firefighter died and two others were treated for heat exhaustion. 11:15 Safety officer, asked about Johnson, concludes he might be missing. Links: Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! Learn more about this supplier. The cause of death was not immediately determined. Curiously, one of the commonalities of the fires was that, although they burned at an extremely high temperature, no traces of accelerant were found at any of the scenes. Lumber Lumber-Wholesale Home Improvements (1) BBB Rating: A+. No, this is just a hobby, although I used to do a lot of documentary research so I'm used to writing articles like this. Taylor refused to comment on the report, and police officials could not immediately be reached for comment this morning. 110. They found at least twenty other fires in both the United States and Canada that seemed to be started by the same individual, known as the "King of Arsonists". Lastly, an expert investigator for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms named Steve Carman started a review of the fires identified by Fowler and his team as high-temperature accelerant (HTA) arsons. The most devastating air raid on Darmstadt occurred on the night of 11/12 September 1944 when No. Lumber and chemicals stored at the facility then caused the fire to reach such high temperatures. Industry: Lumber products Printer Friendly View Address: 1039 Elliott Ave W Seattle, WA, 98119-3609 United States The body of a 32-year-old lieutenant, a veteran of nine years on the force, was found beneath debris early Sunday, nearly an hour after he was reported missing, said Fire Lt. Preston Bhang. 11:48 Fire under control, interior search started. Blackstock Lumber occupied the area north of West Mercer Street in the 1980s. Matt left behind a wife and a fifteen-month-old son. A newspaper reported the building had been under surveillance after the company occupying the structure received arson threats. We conduct periodic reviews about every five years. A fifth firefighter sustained a minor neck injury. There's a lot of things we have to look at," the P-I reported. "Well I came down here and saw smoke, went in and tried to grab a few things, got my guitars and it was apparent the building was definitely on fire," said Matthew Fox. Unfortunately for Fowler and his team, cracks were already starting to appear in the foundation of their argument. The Seattle Lumber Experts Seattle Location (206) 623-5010 1919 4th Avenue SouthSeattle, WA98134 Products & Materials | Millwork, Shop Builders : Roofing, Paving and construction services. The cause of the fire was unknown. stream Carpet & Rug Dealers, View supplier info & more! More than 100 city firefighters fought the five-alarm blaze, which was finally declared contained at 1 a.m. today, some six hours after it was reported. At about 10:25 p.m., the report says, ``a huge ball of blue flames exploded out of the door'' from the area where Johnson later was found dead. The scenario was laid out in the association's long-awaited report, released yesterday by Seattle Fire Chief Claude Harris. 2 0 obj To do that, Harris said, he hopes to set up a system that uses Velcro ID patches that can be taken from firefighters' gear and attached to an identification board.