SEQUIM — A family staying in a motel room gutted by flames Saturday night was in the inn because their house in downtown Sequim had been badly damaged by fire two days earlier.
No one was injured in either fire.
After the Saturday blaze, however, the mother — Sheree Clemons, 26 — was taken into custody for investigation of attempted murder, Sequim police said.
The weekend fire at Sequim West Inn destroyed a room on the second floor where Clemons, her husband and two young children were staying.
Police said the fire looks like it was set intentionally but would not release further details Monday.
Once the investigation is complete, the case will be referred to the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which will decide what charges will be filed.
Candle in house?
There isn’t enough information to determine if the fire at the family’s residence in the 100 block of Bell Street was set intentionally, said Roger Moeder, assistant chief of Clallam County Fire Protection District No. 3.
The account given to the fire department was that a candle, resting on a plate on the floor, ignited the covers of a nearby bed.
While it appears the fire did start on or near the floor near the bed because of an “open flame device,” firefighters did not find anything that a candle or plate would have left behind, Moeder said.
“We did not find any evidence of either,” he said. “That leaves doubt there.”