Police are investigating a strange arson that occurred early this morning, Tuesday, April 27 at the Ride the Ducks of Seattle building, located in the 500 block of Broad St. just across from Seattle Center and the EMP in Lower Queen Anne.

(Photo courtesy of KING5, reposted with permission).

According to the SPD Blotter, officers responded to an assist request from the Seattle Fire Department at the building at approximately 12:39 a.m., when firefighters reported that a Ride the Ducks employee had let them into the building and informed them of the exact location of the fire. When officers contacted the 50-year-old man, he admitted to setting the fire–but even stranger still, was the story behind it. From the Blotter:

He claimed that he set the building on fire because he was being chased by two unknown men from his apartment several blocks away. The suspect stated that he ran to the business where he works in an attempt to get away from the men. He further claimed that after he entered the building and locked the door and set the alarm, the unknown men began breaking the windows of the building in an attempt to reach him. The suspect stated that one of the men then went onto the roof of the building and cut the telephone lines, thus preventing him from calling 911. The suspect stated that he then went to a second floor office and intentionally set a fire. He stated that he hoped the fire would set off the smoke alarms that would alert the Fire Department who would then call the police and he could get the help he needed. The suspect stated that plan wasn’t working fast enough, so he jumped out the second story window and ran to the 200 Block of 5th Avenue North where he called 911.

The man then reportedly returned to the building after calling police. According to the SPD report, “there was no indication that the phone lines had been cut or that any windows had been broken.”

The suspect was arrested and booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Arson. “Drugs may be a factor in this case,” wrote SPD in the incident report, adding that detectives will continue to investigate.