PULLMAN, Wash., Sept. 4 (UPI) — A fire that caused extensive damage at a Planned Parenthood office near Washington State University Friday was intentionally set, authorities said.
The blaze was reported at about 3:30 a.m. local time Friday in the town of Pullman, which is home to the university. Officials said it caused extensive fire, smoke and heat damage.
The damage was so extensive that the facility has been deemed unsafe by a building inspector, NBC News reported.
Investigators believe the building, which opened three years ago, was targeted by activists or someone disenfranchised by the organization — which has been blasted in the media for weeks over a series of undercover videos on which personnel are purportedly heard discussing the sale of fetal body parts.
A major anti-abortion demonstration was held outside the Pullman facility just last month, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
The controversy has led many citizens and government leaders to criticize Planned Parenthood. Some government officials have even proposed cutting off federal funding for the organization.
No one was in the building when the fire occurred, officials said, and no firefighters were hurt battling the flames.
Officials in Pullman requested assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the agency sent multiple agents to the small college town of about 30,000.
Just this week, President Barack Obama stirred the controversy anew by earmarking $ 1 million in federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
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