PROLOGUE
Raccoon Times, July 24, 1998
SPENCER MANSION DESTROYED IN EXPLOSIVE FIRE
RACCOON CITY—At approximately 2 A.M. Thursday morning,
Victory Lake district residents were awakened by an
explosive blast that thundered through northwest Raccoon
Forest, apparently caused by a fire that swept through the
abandoned Spencer mansion and ignited chemicals stored in
the basement. Due to delays from the police barricade set up
at the forest perimeter (in connection with the recent string
of murders in Raccoon City), local firefighters were unable
to salvage any part of the estate's grounds. After a threehour
battle against the raging fire, the thirty one year old
mansion and adjacent servant's quarters were deemed a
complete loss.
Built by Lord Oswell Spencer, European aristocrat and
one of the founders of the worldwide pharmaceutical company,
Umbrella, Inc., the estate was designed by awardwinning
architect George Trevor as a guest house for
Umbrella VIPs and was closed down shortly after completion
for reasons unknown. According to Amanda Whitney,
spokesperson for the Umbrella Corporation, parts of the
estate were still being used to store a number of industrial
cleaning agents and solvents used by Umbrella. Whitney said
in a statement yesterday that the company would take full
responsibility for the unfortunate incident, calling it
"A serious oversight on our part. Those chemicals should have
been cleared out of the Spencer house a long time ago, and
we're just thankful that no one was hurt."
At this point, the cause of the fire is undetermined, but
Whitney went on to say that Umbrella will be bringing in
their own investigators to sift through the ruins in hopes of
determining the fire's point of origin. . .
Raccoon Weekly, July 29, 1998
S.T.A.R.S. TAKEN OFF MURDER INVESTIGATION
RACCOON CITY—In a surprising announcement by city
officials at a press conference yesterday, the Raccoon City
branch of the Special Tactics and Rescue Squad (S.T.A.R.S.)
was officially removed from the investigation into the nine
brutal murders and five disappearances of city residents that
have occurred in the last ten weeks. City council member
Edward Weist delivered the statement, citing gross incompetence
as the primary reason for the S.T.A.R.S. removal.
Readers may remember that the S.T.A.R.S.'s first action
upon being assigned the cases last week was to search the
northwest area of the forest for the alleged cannibal killers.
Weist stated that it was because of their "blatantly unprofessional
conduct" that their mission ended in disaster, resuiting
in the crash of a helicopter and the loss of six of
their eleven team members, including the S.T.A.R.S. branch
commander, Captain Albert Wesker.
"After [the S.T.A.R.S.'s] mishandling of the Raccoon
Forest search," said Weist, "we've decided to let the RPD see
this investigation through to its conclusion. We have reason
to believe that the S.T.A.R.S. may have been ingesting drugs
and/or alcohol prior to their search, and have suspended the
use of their services indefinitely."
Weist was joined by Sarah Jacobsen (representing Mayor
Harris) and Police Commissioner J.C. Washington to make
the announcement and answer questions. Neither Police
Chief Brian Irons nor any of the surviving S.T.A.R.S. could
be reached for comment. . .
Cityside, August 3, 1998
SOURCE OF ESTATE FIRE DEEMED ACCIDENTAL
RACCOON CITY—After an exhaustive investigation by fire
officials working with Umbrella, Inc.'s ISD (Industrial
Services Division), the fire that ravaged the company-owned
Spencer estate in Raccoon Forest late last month was
determined to have been caused by carelessness on the part
of person or persons unknown, as was announced in a press
conference yesterday. Said ISD Team Leader David Bischoff,
"It looks like somebody tried to start a campfire in one of
the mansion's rooms and things just got out of control.
We've found nothing to suggest arson or foul play of any
kind." He went on to say that while the destruction of the
property was total, there's no evidence that anyone was
caught in the fire or subsequent explosion.
Chief Brian Irons of the Raccoon City Police Department
was in attendance at the conference, and when asked
whether he believed the fire to be connected to the unsolved
murders and disappearances plaguing the city, Irons stated
that there was no way to be sure. Said Irons, "At this point,
anything I could say would only be speculation—though I
will say that the fact that the murders have stopped since the
night of the fire seems to imply that perhaps the killers were
hiding there. We can only hope that they've now left the area
and will soon be apprehended."
Chief Irons refused to comment on the allegations of
gross misconduct by the S.T.A.R.S. in their brief assignment
to the murder investigation, saying only that he agreed with
the city council's decision and disciplinary actions are being
considered. . .
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