L.A., Federal Teams Sign Formal Pact on Anti-Arson Efforts
Los Angeles city firefighters and federal agents signed a formal agreement strengthening their commitment to the Arson Task Force, a cooperative effort that has put more than a dozen arsonists and organized crime figures behind bars.
The squad, composed of two city Fire Department firefighters and two investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, was created in 1979 on a handshake agreement between the two agencies, officials said.
The team has investigated more than 30 arson fires, primarily large-scale fires set in industrial or commercial buildings where a financial motive or a link to organized crime is suspected, said city fire Battalion Chief Bill Bisson.
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