East Austin Recording Studio Fire Ruled Arson

EAST AUSTIN, TX — The fire that destroyed a far East Austin recording studio operated by record label Raw Paw is being investigated as arson, fire officials said.

Officials of the media company/record label said the fire occurred at the business on 4004 Reeders Dr. between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Jan. 2. The blaze destroyed nearly all the contents within the building, officials said on social media.

"It was an act of arson that destroyed everything inside the house including countless pieces of artwork, printing equipment, supplies, books, records, merchandise and more," company officials said.

A crowd-sourcing fundraiser has been set up to help the business recover financially. So far, a little more than $7,600 of a $30,000 has been raised. Company officials confirmed they were not covered with insurance, hence the fundraiser.

"What we have been asked most is did we have insurance," the page reads. "No, we did not. Our renter’s insurance ended completely on December 28th, five days before the fire, when we parted ways with an owner who resigned. We had written down to restart the insurance in our name the first day back to work, which was the same day as the fire. A perfect storm of horrible."

The company's officials expressed gratitude to those who have reached out to help them recover from their losses: "We are extremely grateful to everyone who reached out during this chaotic time. Every word of kindness feels like a piece of armor surrounding us," the organizer of the fundraiser wrote. "Thank you so much and we love you. Y’all have a lot of questions, we have a lot of questions. All we can say is we don’t know who committed this evil attack on us and there is an investigation underway that we are praying will illuminate this soon."

Raw Paw officials urge anyone with information about the fire to contact the Travis County Fire Marshal’s Office at (512) 854-4621.

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