PORT ANGELES — Bail was set at $50,000 Monday for a Port Angeles woman who allegedly set fire to a Serenity House of Clallam County fourplex, leaving three families homeless.
Denise K. Kovacevic, 40, is being investigated for first-degree arson for the Friday fire at Evergreen Family Village. No one was injured, authorities said.
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will consider filing a formal charge against Kovacevic at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Kovacevic allegedly used a lighter to set fire to a piece of furniture in her unit before leaving the apartment, Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols said.
Nichols requested a $250,000 bail for Kovacevic on Monday based on community safety concerns, saying the accusations were “quite concerning.”
“They include that the defendant was staying in a Serenity House apartment complex, had reportedly been acting erratically as of late, on or about March 29 set fire to furniture in her apartment, which she then left,” Nichols said.
“During the recorded interview, she actually admitted to doing this with a lighter.”
The Port Angeles Fire Department responded to the fire at 9:10 a.m. and declared it under control at 9:28 a.m. Friday.
Kovacevic was found in a family member’s home at about noon Friday, police said.
Port Angeles Police Cpl. Sky Sexton said Kovacevic admitted to starting the fire “but gave off a lot of indications of mental health issues.”
Capt. Terry Reid of the Port Angeles Fire Department said Friday a sprinkler system activated immediately after the fire started.
Serenity House of Clallam County officials said three units were damaged and two were near a total loss.
“There is smoke damage and fire damage to not only [Kovacevic’s] unit, but others within the complex in the aftermath of this event,” Nichols said.
“Moreover, underscoring the concern, is that persons familiar with the defendant state that she suffered a traumatic brain injury approximately nine years ago from a fall, and since then she has sought medical specialists and attention but she has started to refuse treatment of late.
“Her behavior has escalated,” Nichols added.
“She had been acting in what I’ll characterize as an erratic fashion.”
Erickson set Kovacevic’s bail at $50,000 based on community safety. Erickson appointed Clallam Public Defender to represent Kovacevic after she said she had no income.
Serenity House was coordinating efforts to rehouse the three families who were displaced by the fire, Reid said.
“We will rebuild,” Serenity House officials said in a Sunday Facebook post.
“With help from the Red Cross we have already found very short term housing for the two families innocently caught in this. The children of the other are with relatives.”
Nichols said there could be a “wide array of mental health issues” for the court to address in Kovacevic’s case.
“She doesn’t have any criminal history,” Nichols said. “But again, this is an entrance into the court environment that really raises concerns for us. We’re fortunate that no one else in the apartment complex was injured as it stands.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
