Temporary roofing workers started Skinner building fire
Two men working atop the Skinner building on Front and Seward streets when a fire broke out on Aug. 15 were temporary employees paid in cash, according to a report from Juneau's fire marshal.
John Allen Paul III, a temporary employee who wasn't working that day, warned the others they might burn the building with the torch they were using, Fire Marshal Rich Etheridge said in a report released Tuesday.
Paul insisted he had nothing to do with the fire. He talked to Etheridge at 5:10 a.m. on Aug. 22, one week after the fire, after police found him in the burned-out building.
Etheridge said Paul appeared to be intoxicated when found. Paul told him he'd been living wherever he could, including under the Gold Creek bridge and in a parking garage.
George Strom, 21, and Shawn Beaird, 22, agree on everything except the time it took to call authorities after the fire started. Strom said they tried to put out the fire for 15 minutes. Beaird said they spent five to 10 minutes.
They said they were hired by Peter Lam, owner of the Dragon Inn restaurant, one of the building tenants. They were paid in cash. Beaird told Etheridge when he started that he thought it was volunteer work.
Strom, interviewed by Etheridge on Aug. 24 at the building, said he was working with the torch to heat up tar and lay paper. He and Beaird agreed that the torch got too close to the wall and lit insulation on fire.
Beaird, interviewed at his home Aug. 25, said Lam tried to help the two workers put out the fire before help was sought.
Capital City Fire and Rescue Chief Eric Mohrmann said he sees no grounds for criminal charges. But he said the roof work could be criticized.
"In hindsight we would have suggested something different," he said.