Another Suspicious Fire Burns Down Vacant Yakima Condo Project

A condominium project which sat empty and in limbo for years has been reduced to charred remains in the largest in a string of local suspicious fires last week in Yakima, Washington, according to press reports. Construction of the condo project began seven years ago and its ownership has passed through several hands over the years.

Reportedly, the original owner lost the condos to foreclosure, and the current owners bought the property in a Sheriff's sale for $450,000 two years ago. Yakima Fire Chief Charlie Hines says damage estimates could easily be into the millions. Authorities said it's unclear whether the property was insured. The current owner, Deerfalls Property, reportedly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month. It also owes more than $25,000 in delinquent property taxes for the past three years. Jacques Von Speyer and Alexa Petschek-Von Speyer, who are listed as the debtors on the bankruptcy petition, could not be reached Thursday.

Federal Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms agents will be working on the investigation with Yakima Fire and Police investigators to figure out what caused the empty condos to burn down. While not yet calling it arson, they are calling the fire suspicious. For more, see:

ATF Agents Join Investigation Into Fire That Burned Down Empty Condos. (KNDO-23/KNDU-25).

Go here to watch the KNDO-23/KNDU-25 video report (Brian Levitan reports) (no longer available online).

Condo project destroyed in latest suspicious fire (Yakima Herald-Republic). zebra