A regional search is underway for a 49-year-old man, Jason M. Birman, a person of interest connected to a fatal house fire in Rockport, Skagit County, outside of Concrete.
Three victims were recovered from the scene and are undergoing forensic examination by the Skagit County Coroner’s Office. Identification is pending.
Around 10:24 a.m. the morning of Aug. 9, Skagit County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a residential fire on State Route 530 south of Rockport, according to a news release from the Mount Vernon Police Department. A two-story residence was destroyed in the fire, and surrounding buildings and vehicles sustained extensive damage.
A photo of the scene provided by law enforcement last week shows significant damage, with only the foundation remaining.
The area was eerily quiet the morning of the fire, one neighbor recalled, maybe because State Route 20 in North Cascades National Park, the normal draw for traffic coming northeast from Seattle, is closed due to wildfire hazard.
During the initial investigation, it was found the owner of the residence was a non-law enforcement, contract employee of Skagit County, according to MVPD.
Skagit County coroner Hayley Thompson told Cascadia Daily News on Wednesday, Aug. 14 that examination of remains is expected to be completed early next week. The victims will be identified after their families are notified.
MVPD is investigating the fire with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Skagit County Fire Marshal, the Snohomish County Fire Marshal and the Sedro-Woolley Fire Department.
On Monday, Aug. 12, MVPD put out notice for asked the public to be on the lookout for a blue 1994 Chevrolet pick-up with Washington plates, registration C67636L, that was missing from the scene of the fire. It wasn’t until Wednesday, Aug. 14 that Birman, the owner of the truck, was determined to be missing as well. That’s when he was named a person of interest in the investigation.
Birman has been known to frequent Skagit and Whatcom counties and is described as an avid four-wheeler. Anyone with information on Birman’s whereabouts is asked to call the tipline at 360-661-2319.
The heavily forested stretch of highway between Rockport and Darrington doesn’t seem to invite a sense of community, with long gated driveways and many “No Trespassing” signs posted. But residents still feel a sense of neighborliness, especially during emergencies.
Christel and Keoni Bulawan, who live a few houses down and believe they were the first to call 911, said that after reporting the wall of smoke and intense fire they witnessed on Friday morning, they went to check on their elderly neighbors before packing their bags and dogs in case they needed to flee.
“You really want to be able to save someone’s life by calling 911,” Christel said sadly.
She said she first met the residents of the destroyed house back in 2019 and felt they were good people that were involved members of the community. Even though investigators had asked her and other neighbors if they had heard gunshots that morning, Christel felt confident the fire was a tragic accident — and she didn’t hear any shots.
When she learned later on Wednesday that Birman was not among the deceased and was instead a person of interest, she said she was “shocked” that the investigation had taken that turn.
MVPD asks that anyone who witnessed the incident or has information that would assist investigators are asked to call the 24-hour dispatch information number 360-428-3211 or during business hours call the police department at 360-336-6271.
The story was updated at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 15 with additional information.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
