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This 1935 folder from the Fire Department Central Files tells the story of a serial arsonist
named Robert Bruce Driscoll, also known as the "Pacific Coast Firebug."
He confessed to setting 140 fires in Seattle over a four-year period, many of them in boxcars and
industrial plants. There were periods when fires were discovered nightly and the Fire Department
had a special patrol squad assigned to try to stop the unknown arsonist. Driscoll was finally
caught in the act by a neighbor who was alerted by his barking dog. The file is interesting because
it contains not only departmental memos and correspondence and other types of records that
we normally see in our collections, but also the actual notes that Driscoll left at fire scenes.
The notes included grievances such as his claim of being blackballed for not fighting in World War I.
There were also complaints targeted against specific people he didn't like saying that if they
didn't lose their jobs he would set more fires. Also in the file is his confession in which he
said he committed arson quote "because I was sore at the world in general." He visited the scenes
with investigators and explained where and how the fires were lit. He was suspected of being the
cause of similar fires throughout the Northwest, but refused to admit to any outside of Seattle.
He ended up being sentenced to five to ten years in prison. You can find this and other unique records
about Seattle history at the Archives. Just email archives@seattle.gov for more information.
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