Local : From Times Staff and wire service reports : Fire at Car Stereo and Alarm Firm in Reseda Causes $1 Million Damage

A fire swept through an auto stereo and alarm installation business in Reseda this morning, causing about $1 million in damages, mostly to equipment and cars, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

The fire at SNA Sound Design in the 18500 block of Topham Street was reported at 4 a.m., department spokesman Jim Wells said. About 40 firefighters controlled it in about half an hour, but not before it gutted the SNA warehouse, leaving about a dozen burned-out shells of cars inside.

“By the time we got there, the flames were already through the roof,” Wells said.

The business was in a 5,000-square-foot, one-story warehouse in an area where several other automotive businesses operate. The cause of the blaze was not known, and investigators from the Fire Department and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were picking through the rubble this morning looking for clues.

Wells said federal investigators are routinely called in because of the high loss, estimated at $150,000 in damages to the structure and $850,000 to the cars and stereo equipment stored inside the business.