Vancouver police investigate arson fires

Investigators are looking into two small apparent arson fires reported Thursday morning in Vancouver.

The first was reported around 10:15 in the 3500 block of L Street in the Rose Village neighborhood.

Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said a 10-by-20 foot storage shed next to an alley between L and M streets caught fire, doing less than $1,000 in damage, approximately.

Vancouver Police Department spokeswoman Kim Kapp said no suspects were seen.

Later, a bit before 11 a.m., firefighters responded to another fire, this one at 17612 S.E. 22nd Way, in the Fisher’s Landing area of east Vancouver.

Scarpelli said the fire started on a blanket located on a bench on the house’s porch. No one was home at the time of the fire, which was discovered by a neighbor who doused it with a garden hose.

The fire did about $1,000 in damage to the wooden bench and a 4-by-2 foot section of vinyl siding, Scarpelli said.

One possible suspect, a neighbor’s son, was later at a hospital for a mental health evaluation, Kapp said.