DAWN T. DODSWORTH: On the night of February 16, 1987,
there was a Everett police officer on routine patrol.
He's able to observe from several blocks
away a glow in the area of Everett Community College.
The police officer responds to that location
and observes a column of smoke and flame
coming up through the roof of that structure, particularly
in the area of the library.
The officer requests the dispatch
of the fire department.
When the fire department arrives on scene,
they actually make entry into the Student Union building.
SAM FRANCHIMONE: And I was the first one in,
and I could see an open air atrium.
And on the other side of that atrium,
there was a lot of fire.
NARRATOR: One of the firefighters
who heads in with Sam is 48-year-old Gary Parks, driver
of Everett's Engine Number 2.
SAM FRANCHIMONE: Gary was assigned to the engine company.
He stayed with the engine.
But this time, evidently, he went in.
We had been in there 10, 15 minutes.
And I noticed that it was getting a lot more smoky.
MAN: People die of smoke inhalation all the time.
So the crew goes in with Scott Air-Paks on.
So they're breathing compressed fresh air,
just like what scuba divers do when they're under the water.
SAM FRANCHIMONE: The Paks, though they're
rated for 30 minutes, usually, in a working fire,
we'll go through that in 15 minutes.
You go through it very, very fast.
I had no idea how long I was in there.
But I drew a breath, and there was no air in my tank.
And I realized this environment is a whole lot
worse than I thought.
I remember calling out for help.
I saw a mask come out to my right.
I brought it up to my face to take a breath of air.
And I remember handing the mask back.
And that's when I saw that it was Gary Parks.
And at that point, I saw the hose line.
I grabbed that hose line because I knew that hose line was
my lifeline out of that fire.
I had to hold on to that line and to follow it.
And I literally held on to that hose line for dear life
until I got out of that fire.
MAN: They're struggling to breathe.
It's hard for them to talk.
Some of them almost didn't make it out,
and we're crawling out the door.
And they realize someone's missing.
Gary was not there.
NARRATOR: Nearly an hour would pass
before firefighters find Gary.
He lays motionless on the floor, his helmet to his side.
Gary Parks is dead.
SAM FRANCHIMONE: At his own risk,
he selflessly took off his mask and freely offered
the very air that was sustaining him in that fire
and held it out toward me.
That's why Gary is a hero.
I was asleep, and somebody came up the driveway.
I said, well, that's strange.
And I looked and it said, Everett Police Department.
And I thought, OK, what's going on?
They said, I want you to come with us now.
So I got into the car with the Everett Police Department,
was an officer and a chaplain.
Nobody talked to me the whole way.
I don't think they knew what to say.
They stopped the car at Providence Hospital.
I got out, and they came to me and said, I'm so sorry.
That's how I found out that Gary had died.
NARRATOR: The Everett Fire Department
launches an investigation into how the fire started.
DAWN T. DODSWORTH: As the investigators were processing
the scene, they were able to determine
that the fire originated behind the library
check-in, check-out area.
Ultimately, the fire investigators
concluded that that was an intentionally
set fire by human hands.
The rule and the law in Washington state
is, if you set a fire, if you're the cause of the fire,
and a firefighter dies in the fire,
you're guilty of first degree murder.
MIKE ATWOOD: There were three subjects that were all
associated with one another, reportedly
by numerous witnesses at the scene of the fire
on the night of the fire.
I'd qualify these kids as rough and tumble street kids.
They already had somewhat of a criminal history,
a criminal past.
NARRATOR: Elmer Nash is a troubled 12-year-old boy.
He is no stranger to police.
MIKE ATWOOD: Most of the police at the time
really knew who Elmer was because he
was in constant trouble.
So, as we focused on Elmer, we were
able to essentially get a statement from Elmer
that he was not involved.
We were able to polygraph him and determine
if the information that he was providing was factual.
He ultimately passed the polygraph.
There was no sign of deception.
And we, as the Everett Police Department
detectives, determined, let's look elsewhere.
This might not be our main suspect,
so we need to keep digging.
DAWN T. DODSWORTH: Unfortunately, there
were three elderly victims at a residential nursing home fire.
The fire investigators were actually
able to speak with an eyewitness who
was able to describe a very neatly dressed
man, who was clean shaven.
Once the sketch and the profile of this person
were put out to the public, a brother and sister
looked at it, and they thought that this kind of
looked like their brother, Paul Keller.
They actually pulled some gas receipts from Paul's travels,
and they were able to determine, looking at those fuel slips,
that a lot of the places that he actually
got fuel for his vehicle were very close to where
these fires were set.
NARRATOR: The family notifies the police.
Investigators decided to place Paul Keller under arrest
and bring him into police custody.
They actually set up the room and essentially
told Paul that it was over.
And he eventually confessed to over 70 of these fires.
NARRATOR: Paul Keller is sentenced
to 75 years for the first degree arson
murder of three elderly residents at Seattle's
Four Freedoms Retirement Home.
Investigators set out to discover
if he's also behind the fire that killed Gary Parks.
DAWN T. DODSWORTH: Investigators began to look at Paul Keller
as a potential suspect due to the fact
that the fire was set by an open flame
to available combustibles.
Paul Keller initially set these fires as some type of revenge
from having a very overly controlling family.
He really got excited by seeing the flames,
seeing the firefighters responding, watching the fire
ground activities.
NARRATOR: Police begin to build a case.
They unearth promising leads tying
Paul to the college blaze.
There were witnesses that said,
oh, Paul Keller lived near the Everett Community College fire.
Additionally, Paul was said to have been on video the night
of the fire where they had a film crew
that was videotaping the fire.
And so we needed to try and get that film.
NARRATOR: Yet the case against Paul Keller
begins to show cracks.
A lot of Paul Keller's fires were set
on the exterior of a structure.
The Everett Community College fire was
actually set in the library.
So the Everett Community College fire
was determined not to fit within the general pattern of
the fires set by Paul Keller.
Investigators were able to determine through speaking
with this landlord that Paul Keller,
in fact, did not reside at this residence
at the time of the fire.
In fact, he had lived there after the fire.
DETECTIVE: Detectives were unable to find any video
that had Paul Keller there.
NARRATOR: Years pass.
Gary's family grows despondent.
JENNIFER PARKS: I just kind of gave up, you know?
I thought, well, if it's going to get solved, it will,
but you give up hope after a while.
NARRATOR: Like smoke rising from the library that claimed Gary's
life, justice for this fallen hero drifts out of reach,
and the case grows cold.
MIKE ATWOOD: Paul Keller had actually
agreed to speak with me.
NARRATOR: Keller sticks to his statement
that he didn't set the college fire.
MIKE ATWOOD: This is one of the only cases
that he didn't confess to and was always adamant that he
wasn't involved.
NARRATOR: Detective Atwood shifts gears to suspect
number two, Elmer Nash.
The now 41-year-old petty criminal has no known address,
but at the Snohomish County Jail,
Detective Atwood gets a lucky break.
MIKE ATWOOD: Elmer Nash is standing at the counter.
He had just gotten arrested and was being booked into the jail.
I just threw caution to the wind and went for it.
So I went up and talked to Elmer, and I said, hey,
do you mind coming back to the station?
I'd love to talk to you about a case that I'm working.
And the words came out of his mouth.
He goes, oh, is this about the fire at the college?
That blew me away a little bit.
I said, well, as a matter of fact, it is.
And he goes, sure.
We're talking, and Detective Kowalczyk from Everett PD says,
we can do a polygraph.
Elmer says, yes.
They get done.
Detective Kowalczyk comes out, and she goes,
he failed miserably.
NARRATOR: Slowly, the story forms about the night
the library caught fire.
Elmer put himself on scene, said he was there as a lookout.
He described himself as climbing through a window or a hatch.
Elmer puts himself that he may have fed fuel to the fire,
but he didn't start it.
He kept minimizing, and then eventually said
that he had started the fire.
I asked him why he started the fire,
and he said to cover up evidence.
They were in the school trying to steal stuff.
DETECTIVE: So May 2021 is the sentencing
hearing for Elmer Nash.
This is a big deal.
There are over 100 firefighters showing up,
past and present, for this hearing, except we
were missing one thing--
Elmer Nash was absent.
It was beyond belief that Elmer Nash never
showed up for the sentencing.
At the second sentencing hearing,
he was admonished by the judge severely for not abiding
by his wishes and showing up.
Elmer was up at the podium and just
sobbing, telling the family.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry for what I did.
I did not mean to do this.
I'm so sorry for the loss of your husband,
the loss of your father.
We saw this grown man that was, as if he was
12 years old, trying to apologize
to everybody in the courtroom.
It was about as real as you can get,
and it was tough to watch.
DETECTIVE: Aaron, Jen, Kathy had the opportunity
to read a letter to the court, and they asked
for exceptional sentencing.
The judge went through a litany of concerns
that he had with Elmer.
The plea agreement was for 2, 2 and 1/2 years.
He got 10 years for the crime he committed.
JENNIFER PARKS: He killed my dad.
I was glad he got 10 years.
MIKE ATWOOD: Elmer took a hit for what he did.
I honestly don't think that Elmer was alone that night,
but I think he's a loyal guy.
But he also took the hit for what he had done.