Published March 29 2016
At 3:40 p.m. on Monday, a homeowner reported to emergency dispatch that he intentionally set his house in the Lake Hills neighborhood on fire. Five minutes later Bellevue firefighters found the two-story home with heavy flames coming from the roof and rear of the structure.
Crews launched an aggressive fire attack through the rear of the house. Although there was limited access around the home, contributing to a challenging hose lay, the fire was extinguished in 17 minutes.
The homeowner, at the 16000 block of Southeast Fourth Street, was the sole occupant and was outside of the house upon fire department arrival. He calmly gave himself up to Bellevue Police. The man, in his 50s, has a history of arson and mental illness.
Firefighters were able to salvage 50 percent of the structure. The fire is under investigation. There were no occupant or firefighter injuries.
