Possible suspect footprints located

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Fire Department is investigating a suspicious structure fire.

The fire department responded to the West Sandy Street fire shortly after midnight Wednesday, Assistant Fire Chief Brett Bastian said. It took approximately 15 minutes to extinguish the flames and approximately two hours to clean the scene.

The residence was vacant at the time, he said. It is perceived to be empty with no furniture inside.

The fire department remained at the scene through Wednesday morning investigating the cause.

Bastian said the residence has access to electricity but it has been ruled out as a related cause of the fire.

There were several suspicious aspects to the fire.

There was an enormous amount of flames billowing from the residence although there was no furniture inside, he said. Typically furniture will cause larger flames.

A trail of footprints was located in the snow leading to and from the residence, Bastian said.

The footprints appear to indicate someone may have left the scene by jumping over a nearby fence, according to Moses Lake Police Department records. The footprints disappear at tire tracks.

"Everything is pointing to this being a suspicious fire," Bastian said.

The fire appeared to begin in the living room of the single story structure, he said. Although the residence remains intact, it suffered extensive fire damage throughout.

The fire was called in by a neighbor who could see flames coming from the residence, Bastian said. The residence is nestled within a cluster of several other residences. The nearby residences were not damaged, he said.

Approximately nine firefighters responded to the scene and it took about 200 gallons of water to extinguish most of the fire, Bastian said.