Second teen pleads guilty to starting Lynden store fire

A 14-year-old boy pleaded guilty Wednesday, Aug. 27, to starting the June fire that engulfed Lynden's Delft Square building.

The teen pleaded guilty to burglary and reckless burning charges, the same charges that his 13-year-old friend pleaded guilty to on Aug. 13.

The Whatcom County Prosecutor's Office is recommending the same sentence for both, which is 40 days in juvenile detention, 140 hours of community service, one year of probation and a drug and alcohol evaluation.

The Prosecutor's Office is also recommending the pair complete the Fire Stoppers program, which is designed to prevent them from starting more fires.

Damages to the building are estimated at about $2.2 million, but that figure could grow as more claims are filed, Whatcom County Deputy Prosecutor Dave Freeman said.

Pacific Continental Realty, which manages the Delft Square building for owner Sherman Bronsink, hired Ferndale-based Franklin Corporation to begin cleaning up debris.

The company spent about two weeks removing the debris so insurance adjusters could inspect the building, Franklin Corp.'s superintendent Ken Pike said.

"It was a pretty big mess," Pike said. "We had 10 Dumpsters full of debris."

Pike said his company is bidding on work to shore up the building's structure, but that work will have to wait until the insurance companies decide if the building is worth salvaging.

According to documents filed in Whatcom County Superior Court:

The two teens broke into the building's third floor on the 14-year-old's birthday, June 9.

They began smoking marijuana and then started burning books and a cardboard box. The fire quickly spread and the 14-year-old left to get a fire extinguisher, which they used to put out the flames.

They told police they left embers still burning, which reignited and quickly spread throughout the building.