Witness Helps Police Nab Suspect In Victorian House Fire

PASADENA, CA — A helpful witness helped police nab a man suspected of torching a historic Victorian home in Pasadena overnight.

Police arrested a 38-year-old Pasadena man at the scene of the fire after a witness pointed him out to arson investigators. His name was not immediately released.

The fire broke out just before 10:30 Wednesday night, and crews arrived to find the large Victorian home at 30 W. Mountain Street engulfed in flames with black smoke shooting from the rooftops, said Lisa Derderian of the Pasadena Fire Department.

Arriving firefighters discovered flames coming from the second floor of the home, Pasadena fire Deputy Chief Bryan Frieders said. A second alarm was requested and 55 firefighters surrounded the home and moved to protect nearby homes, said Frieders. No other homes were damaged. Knockdown was declared about 11 p.m., Frieders said.

It was after the flames were out that a witness at the scene tipped off arson investigators to the suspicious man among the crowd of onlookers.

"Witnesses at the scene ... described a possible subject last seen in the building before it caught on fire," Derderian said. "The Pasadena Fire Department arson investigator arrived on scene to conduct an investigation.

"One of the witnesses who was still at the scene saw the same subject from earlier standing in the crowd at the location and pointed him out to the arson investigator," Derderian said. "The subject was contacted by the arson investigator and a preliminary interview took place."

The man was then arrested.

City News Service contributed to this report. Photos courtesy of the Pasadena Fire Department