{
  "id": "2025-12-08-central-washington-university-dugmore-hall-arson",
  "slug": "central-washington-university-dugmore-hall-arson-2025-12-08",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Central Washington University",
    "shortName": "CWU",
    "state": "WA",
    "type": "public-masters",
    "alertSystemName": "CWU Alert",
    "alertPlatform": "Rave",
    "enrollment": 10500
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-12-08",
    "type": "arson",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "headline": "Finals Week Fires: A String of Small Blazes in a Dorm Laundry Room, Door, and Elevator",
    "summary": "A resident advisor at [Dugmore Residence Hall](https://www.dailyrecordnews.com/crimes/cwu-student-arrested-for-starting-fires-in-dormitory/article_e861c6a9-ecb2-4b9b-9de3-0c5ae23524a4.html) discovered burned materials in a laundry room trash can and a scorched flyer on a student's door on December 8, 2025, during finals week, prompting a Central Washington University Police investigation that identified 18-year-old student [Brayden Robert Todd](https://kimatv.com/news/local/cwu-student-charged-with-arson-after-dorm-fires-during-finals-week) as the suspect after a fellow student reported he had also set fire to paper inside a residence hall elevator. Todd was arrested the next day, December 9, and booked into the Kittitas County Jail on suspicion of first-degree arson.",
    "outcome": "Brayden Robert Todd was arrested December 9, 2025, and booked for suspicion of first-degree arson and being a minor in possession of marijuana. He pleaded not guilty; a judge set bail at $35,000 and barred him from campus. His trial was scheduled for February 2, 2026.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    },
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Monday, December 8, 2025, after the fires were discovered in Dugmore Hall",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "CWU Alert: Campus Police are investigating a series of small fires at Dugmore Hall. There is no immediate danger to the community. If you have information, contact CWU Police.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from KPQ, NBC Right Now, KHQ, and Daily Record News coverage of the CWU Police investigation",
      "annotations": [
        "News coverage confirms CWU Police responded to Dugmore Hall on December 8 after a resident advisor found burnt material in the laundry room and a burned flyer on a student's door, but no outlet reproduced the literal CWU Alert text",
        "Dugmore Residence Hall houses up to 402 students, making it one of the larger dorms on CWU's Ellensburg campus",
        "The incident occurred during finals week, an added stressor factor several outlets noted in their coverage of the suspect's arrest"
      ],
      "characterCount": 175
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "Tuesday, December 9, 2025, after Brayden Robert Todd's arrest",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "CWU Update: A student has been arrested and booked into Kittitas County Jail on suspicion of first-degree arson in connection with the fires set at Dugmore Hall. The suspect has been banned from campus pending the outcome of the case. There is no ongoing threat to the community.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from KIMA TV and Daily Dispatch coverage of the arrest and campus ban",
      "annotations": [
        "Reconstructed from multiple local outlets' reporting of the arrest and the court-ordered campus ban; the literal university notification text was not reproduced by any outlet",
        "Todd was arrested in his own dorm room, in a different residence hall (Bouillon Hall), the day after the fires were discovered in Dugmore Hall",
        "A fellow student's report that Todd had also set fire to paper inside a residence hall elevator helped investigators quickly identify him as the suspect"
      ],
      "characterCount": 279
    }
  ],
  "context": "Dugmore Residence Hall, which can house up to 402 students, sits on Central Washington University's Ellensburg campus. During finals week in December 2025, a [resident advisor smelled something burning and discovered burnt material in the building's laundry room trash can](https://kpq.com/police-firebug-arson-cwu-campus/), along with a scorched paper flyer that had been posted on a student's dorm room door. A separate student told police that 18-year-old Brayden Robert Todd had also set multiple pieces of paper on fire inside a Dugmore Hall elevator. Investigators identified Todd, who [reportedly admitted to starting the fires](https://www.khq.com/news/state/cwu-student-arrested-for-starting-fires-in-dormitory/article_54d3a747-5a83-5837-b1e3-ed8a544b0172.html), and arrested him the following day, December 9, in his dorm room in Bouillon Hall. He was booked into the Kittitas County Jail on suspicion of first-degree arson and misdemeanor marijuana possession. A judge [set bail at $35,000 and banned Todd from campus](https://kimatv.com/news/local/cwu-student-charged-with-arson-after-dorm-fires-during-finals-week) pending trial, scheduled for February 2, 2026.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "None of the fires (a trash can, a door flyer, and elevator paper) grew large enough to trigger a building-wide evacuation, yet each was independently reportable as arson under Clery, illustrating how small, contained fires still require formal campus notification",
    "The case was solved within roughly 24 hours of discovery, aided by a fellow student's report of a separate elevator fire that helped investigators corroborate the suspect's identity",
    "The suspect was arrested inside a different residence hall than the one where the fires occurred, showing investigators moved quickly across campus housing to make the arrest",
    "The incident occurred during finals week, a period several outlets noted as an added source of dormitory stress and disruption"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Police Say Teen Firebug Committed Arson At CWU Dormitory (KPQ)",
      "url": "https://kpq.com/police-firebug-arson-cwu-campus/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "CWU student arrested for starting fires in dormitory (Daily Record News)",
      "url": "https://www.dailyrecordnews.com/crimes/cwu-student-arrested-for-starting-fires-in-dormitory/article_e861c6a9-ecb2-4b9b-9de3-0c5ae23524a4.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "CWU student arrested for starting fires in dormitory (KHQ)",
      "url": "https://www.khq.com/news/state/cwu-student-arrested-for-starting-fires-in-dormitory/article_54d3a747-5a83-5837-b1e3-ed8a544b0172.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "CWU student charged with arson after dorm fires during finals week (KIMA TV)",
      "url": "https://kimatv.com/news/local/cwu-student-charged-with-arson-after-dorm-fires-during-finals-week",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "arson",
    "residence-hall-fire",
    "finals-week",
    "student-suspect",
    "washington",
    "arrest-made",
    "2025"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-07-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-03",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}