A fire broke out early Tuesday morning at a cannabis dispensary in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle, leaving the interior of the building badly damaged and raising speculations as to how the fire started in the first place.
Firefighters were called to Greenside Recreational around 1 a.m. Tuesday, and fire officials say the flames started in the basement before spreading throughout the building. Shop owner Seth Simpson first stated that he believed the fire was caused by an electrical issue in the basement, which was in the remodeling process before the fire broke out.
Employee Aaron Zeitlin sorts through damaged and undamaged products. (Ramon Dompor for Leafly)
There were no injuries, fire officials said.
A few hours after the fire began, the operator of the business’s Facebook page posted that the fire was electrical, but has since posited that the incident was “starting to look like arson.” The post also stated that the business is offering a reward “up to $10k” for information leading to an arrest.
Owner Seth Simpson says that fire inspectors have not ruled out arson as the cause of the fire, which seems to have originated from the outside of the building. (Ramon Dompor for Leafly)
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Greenside Recreational partner Dave Ahl, who owns Greenside Recreational’s Des Moines, Washington store, told Leafly that Simpson was alerted by the alarm company used for the store that there were two sensors going off shortly before 1 a.m. on Tuesday–one by a door and one by a window.
After being alerted to a possible break in situation at his dispensary, Simpson went to check on the location, arriving to a fire.
Owner Seth Simpson discusses an earlier inspection with Cpt. Greene of the Seattle Fire Dept. (Ramon Dompor for Leafly)
Ahl added that things are not really adding up to where and how the fire started, which led to Simpson believing it was arson and offering a reward for information.
This is a developing story; check back at Leafly for updates as more information emerges.
Owner Seth Simpson sorts through damaged products. (Ramon Dompor for Leafly)
