Global Courant
The Los Angeles Fire Department’s arson team is investigating a fire that broke out Saturday night on the second floor of City Hall, authorities said.
The police suspect that someone started the fire by throwing an unknown object through a window in the building.
“Initially, it appears that a suspect outside City Hall threw an object … into the office, broke the window and started the fire,” said Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Warren Moore. There was damage in one of the offices, he said.
The fire alarm on the second floor went off at 8 p.m. Saturday, Moore said.
Firefighters were quickly dispatched to the building at 200 North Spring Street, LAFD spokesman Margaret Stewart said. The building’s sprinkler system was activated, and when firefighters responded, they found “a large amount of water in the main hallway” and entered an office “where they saw a potentially suspicious ignition,” she said.
The fire was already extinguished by the sprinkler system when LAFD arrived, Stewart said.
The fire started in Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso’s office, Moore said. Tso confirmed there was a fire in her office, but said she couldn’t talk further as the investigation was ongoing.
LAFD responders cleared the water from the first and second floors of the building, Stewart said. Members of the department’s arson squad also responded to the scene, Stewart said.
She said she could not comment on what type of object was thrown through the window due to the ongoing arson investigation.
On Sunday morning, numerous fans were set up in and around the stricken office suite to dry carpets. A boarded-up window was visible from the south lawn of City Hall.
