Arsonist Blamed in Fire at Burbank Restaurant

An arsonist with a sophisticated technique set the fire Tuesday that did more than $1 million damage to The Castaway Restaurant, a city-owned Burbank landmark atop the Verdugo Hills, police and fire investigators announced Thursday.

Unusual burn patterns on the restaurant floor indicating that a flammable liquid was used, and the way in which the fire spread rapidly and did great damage are indicators the fire was set, investigators said.

“When you put them all together it becomes pretty clear that it was not accidental,” said Burbank Fire Capt. Steve Patterson, who made the determination.

“It was an arson fire,” Burbank Police Detective Carl Costanzo said. “It was a sophisticated fire in the way it was set.”

Patterson said that specially trained dogs located a “large number” of areas in the restaurant that contained odors of flammable liquids, and investigators matched these to areas of unusual burn patterns that denote a liquid-fed fire.

Investigators said however that there was no truth to news reports that an incendiary timing device had been found.

Authorities have not established a motive nor identified any suspects.

Costanzo, however, said that in recent months about six employees had been laid off from the restaurant and several others fired. The former employees will be questioned, but none had been identified as suspects Thursday.

Meanwhile, executives of Specialty Restaurants Corp., the company that leases the restaurant from the city of Burbank, offered a $10,000 reward Thursday for information leading to the conviction of the arsonist.

“We want somebody brought to justice,” said corporation President David C. Tallichet. “We want the public to assist the Fire Department in apprehending whoever did this.”

The blaze left more than 200 employees without jobs.

The Castaway, erected in 1962 on a hilltop above the De Bell Municipal Golf Course with a breathtaking view of the northeast San Fernando Valley, burned down early Tuesday morning, after an infrared heat-sensing burglar alarm went off shortly after 3:17 a.m., authorities said.

Firefighters who arrived about 15 minutes later found the building engulfed in flames that gutted the dining area and left just a wooden skeleton of the kitchen. A ballroom attached to the restaurant also suffered smoke and water damage.

Damage to the structure alone was estimated by the Fire Department at $1.2 million.