Another Village fire prompts investigation

Fire gutted another men’s restroom in the Village 8400 block of buildings Sunday night at around 6 p.m., according to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department officials.

Sheriff’s deputies on duty at the time called Los Angeles Fire Department officials to the scene. No injuries were reported.

According to one of the deputies on scene, the blaze escalated so quickly that by the time firefighters from stations in Canoga Park and Tarzana had arrived, “The building was so far gone we couldn’t do anything.”

Fire officials arrived on scene at 6:31 p.m., and left at 7:30 p.m. according to an official LAFD report.

This year there have been a total of four fires, three of which occurred in the past two months, all started in campus trashcans or dumpsters in and around the Village.

Sheriff’s department officials are currently investigating the possibility of arson.

Sunday night’s fire was noticeably more destructive than last month’s bathroom fire in neighboring Village 8200.

The floor and walls of the gutted bathroom had peeled back from the intensity of the heat, the mirrors were distorted, and the inside of the door was blackened.

The fire also burned insulation and pipes behind the walls of the restroom.

Burnt refuse littered the ground below the service ramp leading to the men’s and women’s restrooms, which are now closed indefinitely pending further investigation and repairs.

The trashcan where the blaze began was burned beyond recognition.

According to the fire report of one of the LAFD stations that responded to the call, the fire caused roughly $3,200 in damages to Pierce College.

 

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