Wash. Deputy Prevents Potential Explosion After Suspect Sets Gas Station Fire to Attract Police
What to Know
- Spokane County deputies arrested a 51-year-old man on suspicion of first-degree arson after he allegedly ignited gasoline at a Mead gas station, creating flames that reached nearly to the pump canopy roof.
- Witnesses and surveillance video reportedly showed the suspect pacing around the station, spraying gasoline on the ground and igniting it before waiting for responding deputies and firefighters.
- A deputy shut off the fuel system's emergency switch to prevent a possible explosion, and firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, which caused an estimated $200,000 in damage.
The witness said Snyder then used his credit card and paid for fuel at one of the gas pumps. The suspect then kneeled at the pump, ignited fuel that was sprayed on the ground and then sprayed gas to the roof of the gas pumps, according to the witness, who called 911.
Video surveillance from the business backed up the witness account.
Cameras showed Snyder pacing around the pumps, paying for fuel at one of the pumps and spraying gasoline onto the pavement at the base of the pump, court records show. He then kneeled and ignited the puddle. The flames grew quickly, raising nearly to the height of the roof. The fire continued to burn and then died down just before deputies arrived.
After the fire ignited, Snyder moved to the middle bay of the pumps and paced back and forth, raising and lowering his arms. Deputies then detained him.
Arriving deputies reported seeing the flames and Snyder standing by the gas pumps. One of the deputies ran to the emergency fuel shutoff switch to shut down the fuel pumps to prevent an explosion.
Spokane County Fire District 9 firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, according to a Spokane County Sheriff's Office news release.
Snyder told deputies he got scared and started yelling for help after three people, who he could not see or describe, were following him. After no one responded to his screams, Snyder said he decided to start the fire to get law enforcement and firefighters to respond to help him.
He said he used a credit card to pay for fuel, poured gas on the ground next to the pump and pulled a lighter from his pocket to light the gas on fire. He then waited for law enforcement to show up. Deputies pulled the lighter from his pocket while searching him.
The owner of Glenn's Foods estimated the roof of the gas station and the four pumps would cost roughly $200,000 to replace.
The alleged arson is the latest of a string of fires believed to have been intentionally set this month in Spokane County.
Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, allegedly set the Old Trails fire that decimated Spokane neighborhoods Aug. 1.
Danny J. Riesberg, 61, was arrested in connection with a fire Aug. 8 about half the size of a football field near North Havana Street and East Rowan Avenue.
Deputies on Thursday arrested Matthew G. Robinson, 35, with a lighter and a bottle of hand sanitizer containing 70% alcohol in connection with a fire at a Dairy Queen on West Francis Avenue.
Joseph V. Procell Jr., 21, is accused of starting a roughly quarter-acre brush fire Saturday on the Appleway Trail.
Snyder made his first appearance Tuesday in Spokane County Superior Court and is set for an arraignment Thursday. He remained in jail Tuesday afternoon on a $200,000 bond for arson and $25,000 for a previous charge of attempted residential burglary.
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