Investigators say New Year’s Eve fire at Seattle gay nightclub was arson

SEATTLE — Police and fire investigators said Thursday that a New Year’s Eve fire at a popular Seattle gay nightclub was most likely arson.

According to a Seattle police spokesperson, an unknown person or persons poured gasoline onto a carpeted stairwell between the two levels at Neighbors, a gay club in the city’s Capital Hill neighborhood, just after midnight Tuesday and then set it on fire, reports The Seattle Times.

“This could potentially have been much worse,” said Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore. “You have an establishment full of patrons and an intentionally set fire. That’s a very dangerous situation.”

Get the Daily Brief

The news you care about, reported on by the people who care about you:

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Moore said that at the time of the incident the bar was near capacity with about 750 patrons celebrating the New Year.

Article continues below

He noted that the flames were immediately noticed and credited the actions by a quick thinking patron who grabbed a fire extinguisher from behind the upper level’s bar and put out the flames. The club’s own sprinkler system was also activated and another person quickly pulled the fire alarm which led to a rapid evacuation of the bar.

An empty gasoline can was found at the top of the stairway, which leads to the bar’s mezzanine overlooking the dance floor.

Seattle police and fire investigators are exploring the possibility that the arson fire may be the result of a hate bias.

“If there’s any indication it’s a hate crime, we’ll pass it on to our bias unit,” said police spokeswoman Renee Witt.

She said the arson and bomb squads are investigating.

KOMO-TV has more:

The club, which bills itself as the city’s oldest gay night club, hosts a diverse clientele and often has more straight customers than gay, according to employee Kevin Parcasio

Because of the water damage, he said he didn’t know when Neighbors would reopen.