Arson Suspect Arrested in Office Building Fire that Killed 5

LOS ANGELES, CA -

 A homeless man was booked on suspicion of murder today after he allegedly set a fire that killed five people in a vacant office building in the Westlake District.
The bodies of four more homeless victims -- two men and two women -- were found today in the ruins of the two-story structure that was gutted by a major emergency fire in the Westlake District. A male victim was pronounced dead at the scene not long after the fire broke out about 7 p.m. Monday at a 14,351-square-foot building at 2411 W. Eighth St. near MacArthur Park, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Johnny Sanchez, allegedly set the fire intentionally because he had a dispute with other transients living in the building, police and fire officials said at a news conference this afternoon.
Sanchez, who was taken into custody at about 8 p.m. Monday, was being held today in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to sheriff's online inmate records.
Cadaver dogs and their handlers discovered the additional victims inside the burned-out building, according to fire department spokesman Peter Sanders, who said all five victims appear to be transients.
Firefighters used ladders to rescue three people from second-story windows during the blaze, Sanders said.
"One of those victims was transported to a local hospital and the other two were treated and released on scene," he said.
Firefighters were forced into a defensive posture about 20 minutes into their battle with the blaze, fighting the flames from outside the structure.
A total of 147 firefighters fought the fire for two hours and 22 minutes, bringing it under control at 9:25 p.m. Monday.
No firefighters were injured.
The building, which has long stood vacant, has been the site of past fires, according to a fire department official.

City News Service