Arson at Seattle home? 'I’m scared, I don't want to be scared in my own house'

SEATTLE -- Seattle police want to know if anyone in the Ravenna neighborhood saw anything suspicious overnight. They now believe an early morning house fire might have been started intentionally.

Todd Byers’ smoke alarms started going off around 2 a.m.

“I woke up in the room, and my head was in smoke,” he said Tuesday. “I looked out the window, it was all aglow out here.”

A fire had started on the porch, but was quickly spreading up the exterior walls of the house. Byers called 9-1-1 and firefighters responded quickly. But his home suffered considerable damage.

“The entry is a goner, the foyer is a goner.”

It’s tough for Byers, because he had just moved back to his Ravenna home after living abroad for four years.

“We’ve been repainting, just moved all our stuff in last Thursday.”



But what’s even more concerning is that someone may have started the fire on purpose. The Seattle Police Arson and Bomb Unit is now investigating.

“They didn't find any obvious ignition sources that would have led to them to believe this was an accidental fire,” said detective Drew Fowler.

Police say there haven’t been any other suspicious fires in the neighborhood. Byers doesn’t know why someone would have targeted his home, but he doesn’t like the idea of an arsonist on the loose.

“I’m scared, I don't want to be scared in my own house.”

If you have any information which could aid detectives in their investigation, please call the SPD Arson/Bomb Unit at (206) 684-8980.