General contractor Kelly Heath describes Wednesday's arsons at his three newly constructed homes in Snohomish as evil.
"It has nothing to do with anything other than just evil," Heath said.
The crackling sound and heartbreaking sight of his houses burning by 188th Street S.E. was more than Heath's body could bear. His rising blood pressure prompted him to pass out. He said his pacemaker likely saved him.
"I was on my hands and knees crying and I stood up to call somebody and that's the last thing I remember before I went to the hospital," said Heath.
Thursday, after his health scare, Heath returned to the property where he and his wife have poured all their money and the last year-and-a-half of their lives. Snohomish Investigators determined the fires were intentionally set, causing at least a half million dollars damage to two of the homes under construction. An attempt to set a third home on fire failed.
The recession tested the Heath's faith. Like so many builders, Heath Homes took a pounding during the recession. "We''ve been scratching and clawing and finally got some great lots," said Heath.
The homes were going on the market in a month for $750,000 and up. He made a deal to sell one of them the day before the arsons for cash. Now that family will have to wait for the Heaths to rebuild or buy something else.
"We'll rebuild the houses, it's just property," said Kerry Heath who spent Thursday morning crying and then thought about others in Washington state suffering worse than them. "There's a lot of people who are devastated by floods and landslides, losing their homes, and we have a home to come home to."