VAN NUYS : Arson Suspected in Valley College Fire

A weekend fire that broke out in the administration building of Valley College in Van Nuys is believed to have been set after a hole was drilled in a door and gasoline poured through, a college spokeswoman said Thursday.

It will cost the college as much as $85,000 to repair smoke damage from Saturday morning’s blaze, which caused no injuries. The fire is under investigation by Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigators.

“It appears that somebody went to some trouble to do this,” said Shannon Stack, public relations specialist for the college. She said campus police responding to a call about the smoke-filled building at 8:30 a.m. “found a hole in the door that was drilled in a 45-degree angle. Someone poured gasoline through the hole and on the door, and ignited it.”

The fire broke out during a period of heavy rain, between 5 and 8:30 a.m., which may have helped to limit fire damage to the doors and nearby floor, Stack said.

Much of the building’s operations were unaffected by the fire, although lingering smoke fumes have forced college counselors to move to the library. Workers have also spent much of the week painting walls and repairing smoke damage, Stack said.

“The smoke damage has been humongous,” Stack said. “It was black when I got here Monday morning.”

In addition to the needed repairs, the fire left lingering questions.

“We haven’t had something going on like this for many years,” Stack said. “As far as I know, nobody has claimed responsibility. We have no idea why this was done.”