Mount Baker Fire Called Arson -- 80-Year-Old Community Club Building Badly Damaged

A two-alarm arson caused $600,000 damage to the historic Mount Baker Community Club building last night.

No one was hurt in the blaze. Fire investigators said it was set by someone who ignited available combustible materials under a porch on the north side of the large building.

Deputy Fire Chief Paul Hargrove said the flames spread up the exterior and then into the third floor and attic. Signs labeling the fire an arson and asking for community help were posted at the site this morning.

The club building, about 80 years old, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

"It's terrible," said Bill Mundy, a neighbor who watched the fire and who has been active in the club. "Everyone here feels sick about this."

A preschool is a tenant in the club building, at 2811 S. Mount Rainier Drive, and other community programs are housed there. The preschool's area was not badly damaged and may be able to reopen soon, Hargrove said.

The fire was reported at 10:45 p.m. and was declared under control at 11:37 p.m., said Fire Department spokeswoman Georgia Taylor.

At least 60 firefighters were kept busy fighting it.

"We had flames 60 to 70 feet in the air," Hargrove said. "We were really concerned about the building next door because it is so close."

Flames were leaping 20 feet off the peaked rooftop when firefighters arrived, and flames crept up the sides of the building, said Taylor.

Firefighters who scrambled up ladders to the roof were called back at first because the fire threatened to consume it.

"We were really concerned about that," Hargrove said, "but then the crews started to make headway on the third floor and the flames started to settle down."

Hargrove said flame damage was mostly to the third floor and the attic, but the large quantity of water from those areas cascaded down and damaged other areas, including a dance floor.

Daniel Johnson, the building's caretaker, who lives next door, said he was the last person out of the building - about 30 minutes before the fire apparently ignited.

The clubhouse has undergone extensive renovation in recent years. Much of the work was financed from the neighborhood's annual holiday home tour. It is said to be the oldest continually active community club in the nation.