POTLATCH, Wash. -- Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an early morning arson at the Skokomish Tribal Police Department building.

On Thursday, Mason County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene at about 5:42 a.m. after two passers-by discovered the flames at the front of the building.

"Looked off to my right here and there was a big fire," said Ricky Miller Jr.

Miller and a friend called 911 and used water from garden hoses to knock down the flames until firefighters arrived.

"Started beating it down until I realized it was a bit overwhelming," Miller said.

He then ran to his truck and got a fire extinguisher.

Deputies said because the men acted quickly, the damage to the building was minimal.

"I think if they wouldn't have stepped up and taken immediate action, we would have lost that building," said Mason County Sheriff Casey Salisbury.

A sheriff’s office K-9 unit searched the area for suspects but no one was found.

Police said a person was seen near the damaged building, which is located on the Skokomish Indian Reservation about nine miles north of Shelton.

According to sheriff’s investigators, a man dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans is seen on video spreading what they think was an accelerant on the building just before the flames engulfed the area at the front of the police building.

Investigators said they are pursuing several leads in the case.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call Detective Jim Morini at the Mason County Sheriff’s Office at 360-427-9670, Ext. 313 or 911.