Flames destroy shed at Tacoma community garden. Was it arson?
A Tacoma man believes a fire that gutted a community garden shed, destroying the contents inside, was arson.
The 12-by-8 foot shed in the 3100 block of South 40th Street held gardening tools and wheelbarrows. The only surviving item was a lawn mower.
The News Tribune spoke to the 40th Street Community Garden caretaker and security guard Edward Neiland about Thursday’s fire.
“It started so fast and so hot, going under the shed,” Neiland said. “It couldn’t have started on the grass and moved its way towards the shed getting that hot, that fast.”
Neiland said there were the remains of a pile of sticks in the burned-out shed. He’s seen fires around the area started in a similar way, he said.
“I’m sad. We’ve done all this work and someone come and messes things up every other month,” Neiland said.
The Tacoma Fire Department arrived at 6:23 p.m. and quickly put out the fire, the department said. Flames were seen and called in by a passing Tacoma engine crew, who changed course to put out the blaze.
An investigation will be initiated, but as of yet no arson investigator has been assigned, the Tacoma Police Department said.
“Anything that’s suspicious is going to get investigated,” said Shelbie Boyd, Police Department spokesperson.
When Neiland was notified about the fire, he sprinted from his nearby apartment to the garden. The Fire Department had put it out when he arrived. Neiland only saw the shed smoldering, with parts of the roof close to caving in.
The surrounding garden beds were unharmed, Neiland said.
The community garden has struggled with crime, Neiland said. He repainted the shed a darker color to fight graffiti, though he still patrols the garden until 3 a.m. sometimes.
“It’s not safe,” Neiland said. “People have been shot down the street; two people were stabbed around the corner from the garden last week.”
Neiland began maintaining the garden two years ago. He started out as the garden’s director and then shifted into the physical labor that goes into maintaining the garden, he said.
The 40th Street Community Garden relies on donations and federal grants. With 28 plots, the garden has five to six consistent members who raise plants in rented plots, paying a $20 annual fee.
Renters are responsible for their beds and cleaning the garden once a month.
“Once in a while we can apply for grants but they’re like $375, and that doesn’t even cover wood for a quarter of a bed,” Neiland said.
Neiland re-plots parts of the garden often because the wood boards that structure plots rot away.
The city of Tacoma donated bricks from an old incinerator, Neiland said. He plans to create beds with the bricks soon.
All renters are low-income residents, Neiland said. If they don’t have space for a garden or live in an apartment, the community garden is their only opportunity.
“It’s good for the community,” Neiland said. “It promotes a sustainable food source for low-income people; it also beautifies the surrounding neighborhood.”
The garden grows flowers, beans, cucumber, corn, squash, spinach, herbs, lavender and other plants.
This story was originally published July 31, 2023 at 1:41 PM.
