--- description: Arson investigators are treating it as a criminal fire title: Los Angeles Fire: Possible Foul Play image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6242518c13b9d0c7/69876d6ecd684807df0987ae/los-angeles-fire-7.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Los Angeles Fire May Have Involved 'Foul Play'  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 8, 2014 9:43 PM CUT  Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014.Gene Blevins—Reuters  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 8, 2014 9:43 PM CUT The massive Los Angeles fire that burned a large apartment tower will be [investigated as a criminal fire](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-los-angeles-fire-20141208-story.html "undefined"), authorities said Monday. “There may have been some foul play,” Capt. Jaime Moore told the Los Angeles _Times,_ noting that while fires this size are always treated as criminal, it’s highly unusual for a building to go up in a blaze all at once. Dogs trained to identify chemical accelerants in cases of arson were present at the scene. Arson investigators are looking into the building and its financial records. The fire occurred at the DaVinci apartment complex around 1:20 a.m. PT on Monday. Flames were visible for miles around and forced the closure of nearby freeways and roads. \[[_Los Angeles_ _Times_](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-los-angeles-fire-20141208-story.html "undefined")\] ### See the Crazy Fire That Engulfed Downtown Los Angeles  Firefighters rush to a large apartment building fire in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Alamy Live News  Firefighters battle a fire at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Mariana Rosales—EPA  A large fire at an apartment building under construction rages in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Damian Dovarganes—AP  Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Gene Blevins—LA DailyNews/Corbis  Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Damian Dovarganes—AP  Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Michael Meadows—EPA  Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Gene Blevins—Reuters  Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Gene Blevins—Reuters  Los Angeles County firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction next to the Harbor CA-110 Freeway in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. David McNew—Getty Images  More than 200 firefighters work to control a fire that lit up the skyline as it destroys a seven-story building under construction in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Benjamin Dunn—EPA ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3624303/los-angeles-fire-2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3624303/los-angeles-fire-2/"},"headline":"Los Angeles Fire May Have Involved 'Foul Play'","datePublished":"2014-12-08T21:43:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:46.207Z","description":"Arson investigators are treating it as a criminal fire","url":"https://time.com/3624303/los-angeles-fire-2/","keywords":["Crime","los angeles"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6242518c13b9d0c7/69876d6ecd684807df0987ae/los-angeles-fire-7.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6242518c13b9d0c7/69876d6ecd684807df0987ae/los-angeles-fire-7.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Los Angeles city firefighters battle a massive fire at a seven-story downtown apartment complex under construction in Los Angeles","caption":"Los Angeles city firefighters battle a massive fire at a seven-story downtown apartment complex under construction in Los Angeles","creditText":"Gene Blevins—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3624303/los-angeles-fire-2/","name":"Los Angeles Fire May Have Involved 'Foul Play'"}}]}] ```