Kingdom Hall in Olympia, the target of arsonist in March, is destroyed by fire early Tuesday

The Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Olympia was destroyed by fire early Tuesday, the second time since March that area fire crews have extinguished a blaze at 2225 Cain Road Southeast.

In March, the church was targeted by an arsonist, but that blaze caused limited damage. Tuesday’s fire, which was reported about 3 a.m., destroyed the building, Olympia Assistant Fire Chief Rob Bradley said.

“The walls are still standing but that’s about it,” he said.

The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire.

Asked if Tuesday’s fire was arson, Bradley said that was still to be determined. However, based on what happened in March, he called the fire suspicious. A Kingdom Hall in Tumwater also was targeted by an arsonist the same month.

“Let’s put it this way, we wasted no time in calling the ATF,” he said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also investigated the March fires in Olympia and Tumwater.

In the March fire on Cain Road, video surveillance captured a man setting the church ablaze. Bradley said he hoped Tuesday’s fire hadn’t destroyed that video surveillance equipment.

Olympia police interviewed a man about the fire, Lt. Sam Costello said.

The man was later arrested for an unrelated matter, but because the person was in the area at the time of the fire, police questioned him.

“He provided a statement in which he did not implicate himself,” Costello said, adding that there was not enough evidence to charge him with anything related to fire.

The man was arrested on a state Department of Corrections warrant for violating terms of his release. The man has two prior convictions for second-degree assault and felony narcotics, Costello said.

A Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Yelm also was damaged by gunfire in May. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office and ATF later offered a $6,000 reward for information about the shooting.

Neighbors react

Vance Walter, 73, was in town visiting his twin brother in the hospital from Monmouth, Oregon. He was asleep in the upstairs bedroom of his sister’s house when a noise woke him.

Walter gazed outside of the window and saw the top half of Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses engulfed in flames. He then woke up his sister. The pair watched the blaze from the residence as fire personnel attended to the matter.

At about 3:20 a.m., Walter said he saw the entire roof collapse on itself.

“It was a shock,” Walter said.

While all this was transpiring, Walter noticed an individual being questioned on the street adjacent to Kingdom Hall. Walter said the person had their identification out, showing it to officials. Walter attempted to go back to sleep, but was unable to rest.

“That’s it,” he said.

The Olympian also spoke with three other neighbors in the surrounding area, all of whom said that they didn’t see the fire itself.

Lisa Jackson, 37, was unaware of the fire until officials stopped by her house to ask questions this afternoon.

Jackson has lived at the residence for about three years now, and didn’t know of the previous arson attempt that occurred at Kingdom Hall in March until questioned by officials. Jackson said there was no smell of a burning fire, nor did she hear any loud commotion.

“They’re [Kingdom Hall Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses] great neighbors,” Jackson said. “I feel bad for them. That’s horrible.”