Arson Suspected in Blaze at Burbank Apartment Project

A brief, fierce fire--probably the work of an arsonist--Tuesday gutted half of a small apartment building being built in Burbank, injuring two firefighters and doing at least $35,000 worth of damage, a Fire Department spokesman said.

The early-morning blaze, which was apparently followed by two smaller acts of arson in the same neighborhood, did not appear to be related to a recent pair of arsons at a construction site in Northridge, authorities said.

The fire destroyed two units of a nearly completed four-unit building in the 200 block of North Myers Street in Burbank, said Burbank Fire Department Battalion Chief Doug Parris. The building was owned by George Calabrese, a part-time builder who lived across the street. Calabrese said the burned units had recently been carpeted and stocked with appliances and were ready to be rented.

Firefighters Injured

Parris said the blaze, which broke out shortly before 2:50 a.m., gutted half of the two-story stucco building in roughly 20 minutes. The fire was controlled at 3:11 a.m., he said. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries during the blaze, Parris said. One, who apparently sprained his back, was not taken to the hospital. The other was treated briefly at St. Joseph Medical Center for minor burns to the neck and ear.

Parris declined to release the names of the injured men.

Two smaller fires were discovered after firefighters arrived on the scene, Parris said. One caused about $1,500 in damage to a garage behind the apartment building, the other damaging a camper parked on North Myers Street, he said.