Crime Stoppers of Tacoma and Pierce County is offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of an alleged serial arsonist in the Winthrop apartment building in downtown Tacoma.

According to police, since Aug. 3 there have been at least four small fires started inside trash cans located in storage and laundry areas throughout the building, which is located at 776 Commerce St. The fires have resulted in over $15,000 in damages.

In addition to the fires, there have been numerous incidents where an unidentified suspect has falsely pulled the fire alarms inside the building.

The issue was raised earlier this month in an interview series with several Winthrop residents and published in the Index. “Lately, we’ve gone back to someone pulling the fire alarm at 3:30 in the morning,” said Winthrop resident David Allen in a recent interview. “You don’t know if there’s actually a fire and the building is going to burn down.”

According to a statement released Thursday by the Tacoma Fire Department (TFD), fire crews, residents and a sprinkler activation system have contained the fires. The property management team has increased security and surveillance measures, and the incidents are currently under joint investigation by TFD and the Tacoma Police Department.

If you have any information regarding these incidents, you are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers at (253) 591-5959.

To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of the Winthrop Hotel, click on the following links:

• A Building on the Brink: Add nuisance report, falling debris to Winthrop’s woes (Tacoma Daily Index, August 19, 2011)
• A Building on the Brink: A line-item look at Winthrop’s hefty deferred maintenance bill (Tacoma Daily Index, August 10, 2011)
• A Building on the Brink: Property report puts $15.7M price tag on Winthrop Hotel’s deferred maintenance (Tacoma Daily Index, August 9, 2011)
• Leaving The Winthrop (Tacoma Daily Index, August 17, 2010)
• 7-year prison sentence for Winthrop arsonist (Tacoma Daily Index, April 23, 2010)
• Accused Winthrop arsonist pleads guilty (Tacoma Daily Index, February 2, 2010)
• Year In Review: Winthrop Hotel (Tacoma Daily Index, December 29, 2009)
• Living On Edge: Inside the Winthrop arson investigation (Tacoma Daily Index, October 23, 2009)
• Winthrop resident accepts Safe Streets award (Tacoma Daily Index, September 16, 2009)
• Winthrop resident named Safe Streets Superstar (Tacoma Daily Index, September 10, 2009)
• Cleaning up a neighborhood, battling a building’s reputation (Tacoma Daily Index, August 25, 2009)
• Crime Stoppers offers $1,000 reward for Winthrop serial arsonist (Tacoma Daily Index, August 21, 2009)
• Historic hotel or housing? Tough economy shines realistic light on Winthrop development plan(Tacoma Daily Index, August 4, 2009)
• Winthrop history, development ideas equally storied (Tacoma Daily Index, June 4, 2009)
• Inside the Winthrop (Tacoma Daily Index, June 2, 2009)
• THA weighs Winthrop building purchase (Tacoma Daily Index, May 29, 2009)
• One dead in Winthrop Hotel fire (Tacoma Daily Index, March 25, 2008)
• Resolution would sell City-owned property for mixed-income housing (Tacoma Daily Index, October 29, 2007)
• Developer eyes City surplus property for Winthrop Hotel project (Tacoma Daily Index, September 26, 2007)
• Winthrop vote illuminates city’s affordable housing concerns (Tacoma Daily Index, March 22, 2006)
• Council resolution on Winthrop rehab expected tonight (Tacoma Daily Index, March 21, 2006)
• Council may vote on whether it supports Winthrop rehabilitation plan (Tacoma Daily Index, March 20, 2006)
• Winthrop repairs mean no evacuations (Tacoma Daily Index, December 19, 2005)

In 2009, the Tacoma Daily Index published a series of interviews with many residents of the Winthrop Hotel. To read the complete series, click on the following links:

• A Voice From the Winthrop: Glenn Grigsby (Tacoma Daily Index, June 16, 2009)
• A Voice From the Winthrop: Otha Adams (Tacoma Daily Index, June 26, 2009)
• A Voice From the Winthrop: Nanette Colby (Tacoma Daily Index, July 15, 2009)
• A Voice From the Winthrop: John Heffler (Tacoma Daily Index, July 30, 2009)
• A Voice From the Winthrop: David Allen (Tacoma Daily Index, August 13, 2009)
• A Voice From the Winthrop: David Miller (Tacoma Daily Index, August 20, 2009)
• A Voice From the Winthrop: Kerry Hudson (Tacoma Daily Index, August 27, 2009)
• A Voice From the Winthrop: Jessica Creso (Tacoma Daily Index, September 1, 2009)

Todd Matthews is editor of the Tacoma Daily Index and recipient of an award for Outstanding Achievement in Media from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation for his work covering historic preservation in Tacoma and Pierce County. He has earned four awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, including third-place honors for his feature article about the University of Washington’s Innocence Project; first-place honors for his feature article about Seattle’s bike messengers; third-place honors for his feature interview with Prison Legal News founder Paul Wright; and second-place honors for his feature article about whistle-blowers in Washington State. His work has also appeared in All About Jazz, City Arts Tacoma, Earshot Jazz, Homeland Security Today, Jazz Steps, Journal of the San Juans, Lynnwood-Mountlake Terrace Enterprise, Prison Legal News, Rain Taxi, Real Change, Seattle Business Monthly, Seattle magazine, Tablet, Washington CEO, Washington Law & Politics, and Washington Free Press. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications. His journalism is collected online at wahmee.com.