No cause yet in West Sixth Street fire that destroyed 2 businesses
By Tom Peterson
The Fire on West Sixth Street that destroyed Arturo’s Jewelry Repair and Country Insurance on May 11 at about 1 a.m. is still under investigation to determine the cause, local authorities said today, May 17.
Sargent Austin Ell with The Dalles Police department said they are awaiting lab results from the Oregon State Police forensics lab to make a final determination.
Oregon State Police, The Dalles Police as well as the Oregon State Fire Marshall and Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue are still working the case.
Samples of burned remnance from the building were sent from the suspected point of origin to the crime lab.
Ell said the debris would be testing for accelerants.
Accelerants can be fuels such as gasoline or other chemicals that burn fast and hot.
Two businesses were destroyed as well as a shop in the blaze that was reported at 1:13 a.m. on May 11th at 1002 West Sixth Street.
Suspicion looms around the case as the first police officer on site at the building at 1002 West Sixth Street and the building fire was “well underway.”
It was the second fire at the location in the past 3 and a half months.
“The building was unoccupied ,and we’re trying to determine what happened and rule out various causes,” he said.
“There has been reports of entry into the building by houseless individuals, but none were contacted in the structure or on the night of the fire,” Ell said.
It may take weeks or months to get a determination from the crime lab, depending on its current workload.
Anyone with additional information about the fire is asked to contact Sargent Ell with The Dalles Police.
On the morning of the fire, Eyewitnesses said booms were used to spray massive amounts of water on the blaze.
Footage from Tim Willis on Facebook shows the building, with addresses of 1002, 1004 and 1006, West Sixth Street, consumed in flames as the fire was shooting through the roof of the building.
Mid-Columbia received mutual aid from several departments, including Cascade Locks and Hood River.
First Fire
Back on Jan. 25th, David John Daniels, 66, was jailed on an arson charge after a fire at 1004 W. 6th Street destroyed the interior of the vacant shop and caused smoke damage to three other abutting business locations, including Studio Hair and Nail.
Daniels remained in jail this evening, May 17, at NORCOR. His bail is set at $27,500.
