Vancouver police are asking the public to help identify a person of interest connected to a fire that damaged the rear of a hardware store near Mill Plain Boulevard and Garrison Road. Officers have not said when the fire broke out or how extensive the damage was, only that they are actively working to determine who is responsible.
The blaze struck the back of the retail center at 8000 E Mill Plain Blvd, a commercial hub anchored by Parkrose Hardware inside the Garrison Square complex, according to LoopNet. The 18.6-acre shopping center, built in 1962, serves as a primary neighborhood retail destination in East Vancouver. According to the Vancouver Police Department, officers are attempting to identify a person of interest in the arson case and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
The intersection where the store sits falls within the North Garrison Heights and Vancouver Heights neighborhood boundary, an area that mixes multi-family housing with commercial corridors along the Mill Plain arterial, per Realtor.com. Anyone with information has been directed to contact Officer Ilia Botvinnik, either by email at [email protected] or through the department's other reporting channels, per the Vancouver Police Department's post.
How Investigators Classify the Fire Under Washington Law
Suspicious property fires like this one are typically investigated jointly by the Vancouver Police Department and the Vancouver Fire Marshal's Office, which examines origin points and burn patterns to evaluate whether a fire was intentionally set, Hoodline has previously reported. Fire marshals typically assess the physical evidence and pinpoint where a fire started before handing suspect identification over to police detectives. It remains unclear whether that cause-and-origin analysis has been completed in this case, or whether investigators have determined what sparked the fire behind the hardware store.
Under Washington Revised Code § 9A.48.030, a person who knowingly and maliciously causes a fire that damages a building or structure commits second-degree arson, a Class B felony carrying up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. If investigators determine the fire was set in a way that created a condition manifestly dangerous to human life, including risk to firefighters, the charge could escalate to first-degree arson under RCW 9A.48.020 — a Class A felony punishable by up to life imprisonment and a $50,000 fine. It is not yet known which statute, if any, will apply once a suspect is identified in this case.
Recent Arson Cases Have Kept Clark County Investigators Busy
This is not the first arson case to draw scrutiny from Vancouver authorities this year. In March, police arrested a 26-year-old woman on first-degree arson charges after she allegedly set fire to clothing on a residential patio on Brandt Drive, sending six-foot flames toward an upper balcony, Hoodline reported at the time. That suspect was held on $15,000 bail following witness reports and intervention by fire crews.
Earlier this month, a 41-year-old Vancouver volunteer firefighter who was facing first-degree arson charges tied to an April fire died in custody at the Clark County Jail, a case Hoodline covered last week. That case involved allegations the fire had been set during an ongoing conflict at a friend's residence. Those cases remain separate from the Mill Plain Boulevard fire, and nothing in the current investigation ties the incidents together.
Community Resources Behind the Investigation
Officer Botvinnik, who is collecting tips in the hardware store case, is a long-serving Vancouver Police Department officer who has previously served as a department spokesperson and taken part in key operational programs, according to background reported by FOX 13 Seattle. Beyond direct email contact with the investigating officer, the department also takes community tips through its dedicated tip line at 360-487-7399 and through the CRESA 311 non-emergency dispatch system, which manages consolidated 911 and 311 call routing for law enforcement across Clark County.
The department's capacity to investigate cases like this one has expanded since city voters passed Proposition 5 in 2025, an initiative that added officers across all 12 patrol shifts and funded specialized detective positions to address property and violent crimes. It remains unclear how much damage the fire caused to the hardware store, whether nearby surveillance footage has produced a clearer image of the person of interest, or whether fire investigators have identified an accelerant used at the scene. Vancouver police have not released further details as the investigation continues.
