Coming Soon. The missing firefighters were on the building's main floor when it collapsed into the lower level after an explosion, Taylor said. King of Arsonists sounds pretty badass, but Emperor of Arsonists has a better ring to it. However, the fire soon spread to other parts of the lumberyard and became one of the biggest fires in recent Seattle history. 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. He told KING-TV he called 911. The cause of the fire was unknown. That does not necessarily mean the blaze was set accidentally, he added. The seller was an LLC associated with the family-run Blackstock. YEARS IN BUSINESS (206) 284-1313. 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. Fire Department's Safety Fines Slashed Mar 7, 1991 Dee Norton Record fines the state levied against the Seattle Fire Department for safety violations at the 1989 Blackstock Lumber Co.. After that, the building was unapproachable. Some electrical power apparently remained in the building as well, which could have caused the observed pyrotechnics, the report said. Meredith said he thinks the NFPA report unfairly criticizes Johnson, who is ``not here to respond. Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Elegant, innovativ und haltbar EVENTS AT THE SEPT. 9, 1989, BLACKSTOCK FIRE. The re-investigation, although eventually declaring the cause of the fire to be undetermined, considered that the original assessmentthat a vagrant trying to stay warm accidentally started the firemight be the correct one. stream The Seattle Lumber Experts Seattle Location (206) 623-5010 1919 4th Avenue SouthSeattle, WA98134 Products & Materials | Millwork, Shop Builders : Roofing, Paving and construction services. A series of tests were done with various types of fuels in order to determine which one the arsonist used. The report explains that numerous failures led to the breakdown of the department's system of accounting for firefighters. They identified at least 20 (some sources say 25) other fires which shared characteristics of the Blackstock and Carpet Exchange fires. The King allegedly used homemade accelerants to make his fires burn much hotter than a typical building fireup to an astonishing 7000 degrees Fahrenheit. Fowler retired in 1992, just before the Unsolved Mysteries episode aired, and he passed away in 2016. Or was there a more sinister reason behind the creation of the King? I first heard about this case, as Im sure a lot of people outside of Seattle did, from the Unsolved Mysteries episode of September 30, 1992. So what led Fowler and his team to push the King of Arsonists theory? That, some firefighters said, was tantamount to the firefighters on the outside pushing the fire onto Johnson and Meredith. The system, he said, meets NFPA standards. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. Hargrove has Meredith taken to medics, then hospital. In the episode, the King of Arsonists was called the most dangerous and clever arsonist in American history. 1 Mt. Unsolved Mysteries Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. 9:23 Deputy Chief Rod Bower arrives, directs aggressive attack from outside and inside the building. in Washington 98109, the location GPS coordinates are: 47.6062095 (latitude), -122.3320708 (longitude). The Blackstock Lumber Co. fire that killed firefighter Lt. Matthew Johnson and injured another in September 1989, was not arson after all, the Seattle Fire Department says. Bill Dietz, director of the forensic division of the ATF laboratory near San Francisco has worked with Carman in research for the still uncompleted report. Blackstock Lumber Co Inc is located in Seattle, WA. 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. These restrictions keep the contamination contained and keep people from being exposed to the contamination. A Hart-Crowser Phase I Environmental Assessment (1989) identified previous occupants of the property including the Seattle Lumber Company (1910s to 1930s), Blackstock Lumber (1930s to 1980s), and the Humane Society (1930s to 1970s). Also on hand were federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and state Labor and Industries investigators. There simply wasnt any evidence of someone roaming the country with a mystery fuel HTA accelerant setting off fires. At first, officials believed that the fire was caused by a vagrant setting a small fire to keep warm. (206) 284-1313. The state said we had no accountability system, and we have one.''. YEARS WITH (206) 455-8341. (The van was bought in the early 1970s for use as a command vehicle equipped with radios, but it has seen little use. At his trial, Keller admitted to setting the fires, including at least one which was attributed to the King of Arsonists. But the bigger question revolves around Dennis Fowler and his King of Arsonists theory. {xO$S]%&7g>r=g8` 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. 45. "The conclusion that it was arson and started with the use of those high-temperature accelerant chemicals was based on the information investigators had available at that time," Taylor said. At his trial, he admitted to setting one of the fires attributed to the "King of Arsonists". endobj 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. The man seen leaving the fire was 6'0", well-dressed, in his early or mid thirties (in 1992), with an athletic build, dark complexion, and dark hair. He also said there was no motive to burn the building intentionally. "That new information came to light and they re-evaluated their findings," Taylor said. For 15 to 25 minutes, firefighters had a chance to pull Lt. Matthew Johnson from the burning Blackstock Lumber Co. warehouse last fall, but missed the opportunity. The fuel, which the Seattle Fire Department has kept secret, was a mixture of several common ingredients that were readily available. 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". The search for Johnson could have begun at 10 p.m., when his incoherent partner, William Meredith, staggered out of the burning building with the help of another firefighter. It was basically an abandoned shell of a building, he said. A new report that includes a review of 25 fires thought to be HTA fires is being prepared by Steve Carman, a division agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Handy Andy Rent-A-Tool. Is it protected from the elements. Website. Janitors Equipment & Supplies, 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. And that, apparently, was as far as the investigation got by September 1992, when the Unsolved Mysteries episode aired. It was never concluded if the fire was accidental or arson. [1] 66,000 of the 110,000 inhabitants of Darmstadt at the time became homeless. There's a lot of things we have to look at," the P-I reported. However, only someone with a specific knowledge of chemistry would know how to put all of the ingredients together. Lumber and chemicals stored at the facility then caused the fire to reach such high temperatures. -- Improve the condition of vacant buildings. Blackstock Lumber Co Inc * 1 Principals See who the company's key decision makers are 10 See similar companies for insight and prospecting. The problem is that the King of Arsonists never existed in the first place. xMHa$T&R+SeL b}wg-E"u.VDNC:DuE^";cT03y| URcE4`vztLUF\)s:k-iYj6|vP4*wd>,y4!7CN-lCTS3q";-E#+c> v=S79@`mvUl5`P=Gj)kP*}6 ~^/~.~a2 Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location. One problem came in the form of a man named Paul Keller. And Carman found that, of the HTA arsons that were likely deliberately set, some were fires set with standard accelerants which burned hotter because of certain materials stored at the site of the fire, while other possible HTA fires had any one of a number of possible HTA accelerants involved. Website Directions More Info. Extra Notes: This case first aired on the September 30, 1992 episode. In the end, we may not be able to come up with an absolute determination, he said. I couldn't find one while doing research on it, but that doesn't mean one isn't out there. 1039 Elliott Ave W. Seattle, WA 98119. 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. Blackstock Lumber Download PDF Check Treatment Summary holding that covenants not to compete in employment agreements are enforced to the extent they are reasonable and lawful, giving special consideration to time and area restrictions Summary of this case from Hendrix v. Branton See 5 Summaries Search all case law on Casetext. 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. A fifth firefighter sustained a minor neck injury. Building Materials, View supplier info & more! Hard to tell if Dennis was power crazy, or well-intentioned but flawed. endobj The department appealed the 1987 findings to King County Superior Court. Three of the injured firefighters had been near the missing crew. Ecology conducts reviews to make sure the controls remain effective and the cleanup still protects human health and the environment. 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. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Four firefighters were taken to Harborview Medical Center with neck, ear, face and arm burns, hospital spokeswoman Pam Love said.