WEST SEATTLE — A man was caught on camera torching a family’s Halloween display in the middle of the night, with flames spreading dangerously close to a West Seattle home.
Bekah and Chris Sandy woke up to find their Halloween display burnt and charred on Tuesday morning.
“Just started picking them up and throwing them in, like it was a burn barrel bonfire,” Bekah Sandy said.
She’s describing what their surveillance video captured — a man setting two fires and using their decorations as fuel.
“He kicked this coffin down and dragged the Bob Ross skeleton into it, set Bob Ross on fire, and then began grabbing the little skeleton animals and throwing them in there as well,” Chris Sandy said.
Chris told KIRO 7 the flames grew quickly, threatening the family’s home.
“We’re very, very lucky because those bushes caught fire and it’s right by the fence, right by the house,” Bekah added. “The police and fire said that if it hadn’t rained, this would be a very different outcome.”
A neighbor’s camera caught the massive flames, but it was his cat who spotted them first.
“I noticed my cat, Frankie, who’s sort of a skittish cat but generally would be asleep by then, standing on her dining room table and looking out in this direction,” neighbor Nick Haskell said.
Haskell told KIRO 7 he rushed out to confront the suspect. Surveillance video captured him yelling at the arsonist.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if their house caught on fire, so I was just, I had to get out there,” he said.
As he ran after the suspect, other neighbors jumped in to put out the fires.
“Literally came over with like a pot of water,” Bekah described. “Another one brought the fire extinguisher, which is now in the casket.”
For Bekah, these decorations aren’t just for show — they’ve helped turn neighbors into family.
“She is such a giver, so I want to give back to her because she’s my favorite. She’s like an aunt that I don’t have, you know,” said neighbor Mackenzie.
The damage is estimated between $500 and $1,000.
The Sandys say neighbors came by to help clean up and brought new Halloween decorations, turning a scary situation into something special.
