Local News in Brief : Arson Team Seeks Help in Fire Investigation

Santa Ana arson investigators Friday requested assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in their investigation of a suspicious fire that destroyed a downtown apartment complex under construction, a city Fire Department spokeswoman said.

The department’s four-man arson team, which consists of three police officers and one fire captain, is being cut to two men on July 1 for budget reasons, spokeswoman Sharon Frank said.

The U.S. agents were sought to make sure that the department has “appropriate manpower” during the course of its investigation into the $6-million fire, Frank said. Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire. About a month before the fire, authorities had investigated rumors that construction workers who had not been paid had threatened to set the apartment project on fire. Authorities were unable to substantiate those rumors.