• U.S.

Investigators Say Arsonists Responsible for Massive L.A. Fire

2 minute read
By Eliana Dockterman

Federal investigators believe a fire that took down an entire apartment complex in downtown Los Angeles last week was set on purpose.

It took 250 firefighters an hour and a half to put out the blaze at the Da Vinci apartment complex after responding to an initial call at 1:09 a.m. on Dec. 10.

Local authorities will likely launch an arson investigation, the Los Angeles Times reports. Authorities say they are searching for two unidentified witnesses who were on the scene at the Da Vinci apartment complex, where the fire took 250 firefighters an hour and a half to put out. A surveillance video caught one man walking down the street near the building before the fire began, and the other was seen on news footage trying to get through a construction fence and move toward the building once the fire was burning.

Investigators said they determined that arson was likely given how quickly the complex burned. The fire consumed half the building before the firefighters arrived, despite the fact that the fire station was just a few hundred yards away, and the damage was estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars.

[Los Angeles Times]

See the Crazy Fire That Engulfed Downtown Los Angeles

Los Angeles CA, USA 08 Dec 2014 Firefighters at a large apartment building fire in downtown Los Angeles which shut down major freeways. © Chester Brown/Alamy Live News
Firefighters rush to a large apartment building fire in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Alamy Live News
Huge building fire in downtown LA
Firefighters battle a fire at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Mariana Rosales—EPA
Los Angeles Apartment Fire
A large fire at an apartment building under construction rages in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Damian Dovarganes—AP
USA - Los Angeles Fire
Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Gene Blevins—LA DailyNews/Corbis
Los Angeles Apartment Fire
Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Damian Dovarganes—AP
Huge building fire in downtown LA
Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Michael Meadows—EPA
Los Angeles city firefighters battle a massive fire at a seven-story downtown apartment complex under construction in Los Angeles
Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Gene Blevins—Reuters
Los Angeles city firefighters battle a massive fire at a seven-story downtown apartment complex under construction in Los Angeles
Firefighters battle a blaze at an apartment building under construction in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2014. Gene Blevins—Reuters
Huge Fire In Downtown Los Angeles Shuts Down Portions Of Highways
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
Huge building fire in downtown LA
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

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Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com