Apartment owners beware: Clean your storage areas or they may go up in flames.
Officials are investigating a rash of arson fires that have been set in outdoor carports throughout alleyways in Santa Monica neighborhoods during the past year. The latest arson incident happened early Monday morning in a 10th Street apartment building where all of the residents were left without power and some with major smoke damage to their units.
Santa Monica Fire Department spokeswoman Jill Barnes said a fire was intentionally set in a small storage area underneath the 824 10th Street apartment building shortly before 4 a.m. Monday.
Fire department investigator Joe Paneno said several other apartment buildings have been targets of arson in a corridor between Montana and Broadway Avenues, and Second and 14th Streets. And it appears in many cases the areas around the storage lockers are cluttered with combustible material and are unkempt.
“There has been a fair amount of them,” Paneno said. “We’ve tracked them all and we’ve documented them. It’s something that we are taking a close look and establishing a pattern here.”
Earlier this summer an apartment building at 1234 11th Street was damaged by fire after a carport storage area was set ablaze. That fire caused three cars to be totaled; burned out the center of a 12-vehicle carport, and created extensive smoke and fire damage to apartments directly above the storage locker.
“There was all sorts of combustibles and junk there,” Paneno said.
He added that while some of the fires are small, the latest one at 824 10th Street was problematic because the fire separation — which is usually plaster or drywall — in the building had a hole in it. As a result, the fire shorted a main electrical circuit and wiped out all the power to the apartments.
“It really caused them some problems,” Paneno said. Building owner Dana Pascoe said her 10 tenants have had to temporarily relocated because she still cannot get the power running in the apartments.
Paneno said it could have been much worse if the fire department’s response time hadn’t been so swift. He warns building owners to make sure their fire separation walls are sound. “That’s a life-saving barrier,” he said.
A task force comprised of fire and police officials has been set up to investigate the fires. Paneno said if anyone sees suspicious activity in their neighborhoods they should either report it to his office at 458-8915 or the police department. He also suggests that building owners and residents should keep their alleys free of debris.
“Secure anything they possibly have and minimize any clutter around it,” he said.
Barnes suggests that residents keep an eye out in their neighborhoods and on their belongings.
“Residents may want to keep those storage areas locked and report any suspicious activity,” she said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 16, 2001. Read the original PDF.