ACCELERANT FOUND IN RUINS OF MASSIVE LOS ANGELES,
CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTION FIRE. REWARD FOR INFORMATION HAS BEEN OFFERED
Flames engulf a seven-story downtown apartment
complex under construction in Los Angeles, California December 8, 2014.
(Reuters) - Investigators probing an arson
fire that gutted a multi-story apartment complex under construction in Los
Angeles have found accelerant in the ruins, and are still trying to identify
suspects more than a month after the massive blaze, authorities said on
Wednesday.
Inspectors have
interviewed more than 100 people about the blaze, which caused up to $30
million in damages when it engulfed the scaffolding of a seven-story luxury
apartment complex last December in one of the largest structure fires in the
city's recent history.
But they are still trying
to track down two men seen in video footage approaching the flames, along with
other "people of interest," said officials from the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Treading cautiously
through the precarious structure, investigators shoveled 1,000 square feet (93
square meters) of debris by hand, said Carlos Canino, special agent in charge
of the ATF Los Angeles office.
After the week-long
scrub, and aided by surveillance videos and an accelerant detection dog, they
discovered accelerant as evidence of arson, he said.
Officials declined to
discuss investigation details, but said they expected to offer an award of
$170,000 for information on the fire, more than double the sum usually offered
for multiple murder cases.
"This is not
vandalism, this is an act of violence," said Canino. "It's violence
not against a building, but against a whole community."
Officials also asked area
residents to disclose any knowledge of "someone with unexplained
burns."
The conflagration erupted
at about 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 8 and quickly destroyed the construction
site. Firefighters whose station is located next door to the scene opened their
doors to find the entire block engulfed in flames.
The heat was so intense
that it ignited three floors of an adjacent office high-rise and blew out
windows in that building and two others. No one was injured.
