WA man arrested after deadly Belltown apartment fire

Man charged with manslaughter for deadly apartment fire

Police arrested a man for manslaughter in connection to a deadly apartment fire in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood last July.

SEATTLE - Police arrested a man for manslaughter in connection to a deadly apartment fire in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood last July.

According to the Seattle Police Department (SPD), firefighters responded on July 10 at around 2 a.m. to an apartment fire on First Avenue and Vine Street. Crews immediately evacuated people in the building and started extinguishing the fire.

At the scene, firefighters found a 61-year-old man dead and a 50-year-old woman in critical condition. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center where she later died. Five others were also taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The fire displaced fifty people.

During the investigation, a 65-year-old person of interest was located, and homicide detectives interviewed him.

On Aug. 12, the suspect was arrested and booked into the King County Jail for investigation of manslaughter.

The SPD says this is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the SPD Violent Crime Tip Line at 206-233-5000, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

This is the same location as a dramatic car fire that happened two years ago. FOX 13 News spoke to a woman visiting the city for her honeymoon. She found her car intentionally set on fire. The car was parked directly in front of the Vine Court Apartments where Wednesday's fire happened.