PORT TOWNSEND — The number of teenagers being investigated for their roles in starting the fire that destroyed Aldrich’s grocery has been reduced to three.
An early morning fire Aug. 4 destroyed the 114-year-old building, at 940 Lawrence St. that has housed Aldrich’s since 1928.
Last week, Port Townsend Police Chief Kristen Anderson said four teenagers were being questioned in connection with the fire.
Now one of them has been ruled out as a suspect.
Anderson said the fourth teen was ruled out as a suspect after investigators determined that the juvenile had gone home before the fire started.
One of the juveniles lives in Port Townsend, but not all of them live in Jefferson County, the police chief said at a news conference last week.
She would not say Monday what the juveniles were doing to start the fire, but added that it still doesn’t appear the blaze was intentionally set.
That doesn’t mean the fire isn’t a weighty concern, she said.
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