Man found dead after Capitol Hill fire shot himself

An elderly man whose body was found in a Capitol Hill apartment-complex fire early Monday killed himself with a gunshot wound to the head, the King County Medical Examiner's Office said today.

The death of Edward Jackson, 89, was ruled a suicide.

Jackson was supposed to have moved out that same day because the building where he lived, at 1605 Bellevue Ave., was going to be torn down, authorities said.

Fire officials determined Monday night that the blaze was deliberately set and said that an open flame was used to ignite combustible materials in a first-floor apartment.

Seattle police say they are continuing to investigate who set the blaze.

Because the building was slated for demolition, there was no loss to the value of the structure, said Dana Vander Houwen, Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman. The loss to Jackson's things was estimated at $75,000.

Those who knew Jackson described him as distraught about leaving his apartment, where he had lived for nearly 40 years.

His wife had died in 2004, according to death records. He was living in the apartment alone, said Dennis Saxman, a friend.

Saxman called him "a feisty man with nerves of steel," who was having a hard time dealing with the impending move. Jackson had been the building manager for years, according to Saxman and former tenants.

"It was tough on him," Saxman said. "He had been here for so long."

Around 6:20 a.m., flames broke out on the first floor of the 26-unit complex and quickly spread to the fourth floor. Jackson, who lived on the second floor, was the only person in the 26-unit building who hadn't moved out.

Dave Scudder, a former tenant who lived in the unit above Jackson's, said he likely didn't have resources or family to help him move.

"He was a pack rat," Scudder said. "He had storage lockers full of stuff. You got the sense that his apartment was pretty full of things that he kept over the years. The idea of moving was probably pretty scary and daunting."

Scudder said he had been "a fixture" at the building, known to its tenants as "a very sweet man."

"It was a pretty raucous corner on Capitol Hill, but [he] was always out there, any time of day or any time of night, defending the building and its residents," Scudder said.

"[He] definitely puts a human face on the sort of rush for condo conversions," Scudder said of Jackson. "He's one of those people who sort of fell through the cracks."

Ten minutes after fire officials got the first call, a second alarm went out at 6:30 a.m. and 65 firefighters showed up to fight the blaze, Vander Houwen said.

The fire was out by 7:30 a.m. One firefighter suffered minor injuries and was taken to Harborview Medical Center.

According to a land-use notice, the structure is to be replaced by a six-story residential building with ground-floor retail and parking for more than 100 cars underground.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, people 80 and older have an 18 percent rate of suicide — the highest of any age group.

John Werner, who bought the complex in 1985 and sold it in 2006, said he had known Jackson for more than 20 years.

In fact, Werner said, he had employed Jackson and his wife to manage the property.

Werner described him as robust, saying Jackson didn't make his first visit to a doctor until his early 80s. He and his wife apparently had no children and had lived in the building since 1969, Werner said.

"He was a fine gentleman, very dependable," Werner said. "It's very sad."

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com.

Seattle Times staff reporter Noelene Clark and Times news researcher Gene Balk contributed to this report.