Early Wednesday morning, the quiet of Chinatown was disturbed by the roar of flames as firefighters battled two separate fires that struck the heart of the community. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to emergency calls around 2:15 a.m. and quickly extinguished blazes located at a business on the streetside and a small shack-like structure tucked behind a two-story building in the 800 and 900 blocks of North Broadway. According to a report by ABC7, a witness described an unidentified man utilizing a gas can to ignite the infernos.
The same area was also the site of two additional fires, with the Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Lyndsey Lantz confirming to Patch that the flames engulfed both a two-story restaurant and grocery store in a brief interval. The first incident occurred in the 900 block of North Broadway, and the subsequent fire flared up at a nearby grocery store. Lantz noted an arson investigator was assigned to probe the restaurant fire. While the Los Angeles Police Department conducted a search following a 911 call from a security guard, no suspect was located.
Fortunately, the report from the scene confirmed there were no injuries sustained during the incidents. As the investigation continues, authorities have yet to publish a detailed description of the suspected arsonist.
With the specific cause of the fires still under active investigation, law enforcement remains vigilant. A police response to reports of a person igniting fires in the 900 block of North Broadway was met with the absence of the alleged suspect.
