Well, that could've been truly awful. According to the SPD Blotter, somebody apparently attempted to set Neighbours nightclub afire, just before midnight last night:

Suspect being sought in arson bar fire. On 1/1/2014, just shortly after midnight, an unknown suspect poured gasoline on a carpeted stairway leading to the second level of a bar and ignited it.

The bar in the 1500 block of Broadway was occupied by over 750 patrons celebrating New Years Eve at the time. The fire was quickly discovered before it could spread beyond the stairway and was extinguished with a fire extinguisher.

Someone pulled the fire alarm and caused the fire sprinkler system to activate. An orderly evacuation was accomplished and no one was injured.

Can't necessarily discern the motive of the arsonist unless the suspect is caught, but the fact that it is a gay nightclub surely raises some suspicions. Also, let's hear a hardy round of applause for fire codes! A fire extinguisher was accessible, the sprinkler system worked, and the exits were adequate to accommodate an orderly evacuation. So potential disaster averted.

[Slogtipper Nomad]