Local News in Brief : Arsonist Blamed in Universal Studios Fire

A fire that destroyed a $2.5-million Universal Studios set on Sept. 4 was the work of an arsonist, the lead investigator into the blaze said Tuesday.

“We have eliminated all accidental causes,” said Sgt. Dale Underwood of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arson and explosives unit. “It is now officially considered an arson. We know it was arson.”

Underwood said investigators came to that conclusion after two weeks of sifting through debris of what was the Spartacus Square set in the studio’s European Village section. Accidental causes of the fire have been eliminated, but the exact cause was still unknown because no incendiary devices were found, Underwood said.

However, investigators believe two telephone threats to the studio in Universal City before and after the fire are related to the arson, Underwood said. Investigators were working from a “major” list of potential suspects--disgruntled former employees and people who have had complaints with Universal, he said.

“The place is huge,” Underwood said. “It employs 2,000 people. You will naturally start with a large number of names” on a list of possible suspects.

The fire, which started about 7:40 p.m. on a Friday, destroyed four buildings on the Spartacus Square set and damaged four others in the European Village. Just minutes before, Universal security officers were called to a nearby set to evacuate it after officials there received a bomb threat.