Fire Damages 4 Panorama City Stores

Four businesses in a Panorama City shopping strip were damaged Sunday by a fire that was apparently set during a robbery attempt, Los Angeles City Fire Department officials said.

The blaze was reported about 6:45 p.m. in the 13500 block of Roscoe Boulevard, Fire Department spokesman Phil Weireter said. Firefighters arrived to find a comic-book store well-involved but knocked down the blaze in about 15 minutes. No injuries were reported.

Three other establishments were damaged, including a real estate office, a coin store and a restaurant that had to be closed down for the evening, Weireter said.

The brunt of the damage was suffered by the comic-book store, where the fire apparently was set during a robbery attempt, Weireter said. Arson investigators were on the scene.