Federal agents start combing site of suspicious L.A. construction fire
By Daina Beth Solomon LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Investigators of a suspicious fire that destroyed an apartment complex under construction in downtown Los Angeles began walking the site on Wednesday looking for clues to origins of the blaze, two days after it reduced a city block to charred ruins. Firefighters were still working to extinguish hot spots in the rubble on Tuesday, and it took another day before the area was safe enough for inspectors from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to enter. A national ATF squad is leading the probe, as it has with only one other Los Angeles fire this year, city fire department spokesman Peter Sanders said. The 50-member ATF team is expected to reach a preliminary finding in a week, at which point the blaze may be ruled either an arson or accidental, ATF agent Tom Mangan told reporters. Officials have said they were treating the blaze, which erupted around 1:30 a.m. local time on Monday, as a "criminal fire," citing its size, as well as the speed and intensity with which it spread. As of Wednesday, however, investigators said they still lacked evidence the fire was intentionally set. They are looking for traces of any flammable or incendiary materials and signs of multiple points of origin that would indicate arson. Investigators also expect to review images captured by numerous surveillance cameras in the area. The site that burned - two stories of poured concrete beneath five floors of wood framing - occupied a whole city block near the junction of two major freeways. Moments after the first alarm, firefighters whose station is located across the street emerged to see the entire development engulfed in flames, fire officials said. "A building in the middle of the city burning at 1 o'clock in the morning is suspicious," said Carlos Canino, special agent in charge of the ATF's Los Angeles office. Added city Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas, "That's unusual, to have this much fire all at the same time." The conflagration produced heat so intense that it ignited three stories of an adjacent office high-rise and blew out windows in that building and two others. One major freeway into town was shut down for several hours, along with three key off-ramps of another, gridlocking traffic in the heart of the nation's second-largest city through Monday's morning commuter rush. No injuries were reported. Canino estimated property losses at $10 million to $20 million. (Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Eric Walsh)
