A string of recent fires in the Cal Heights neighborhood–– which the Long Beach Fire Department deems “suspicious in nature”– have local residents concerned about their property and well-being.
Just in April, there have been about five fires between the 3400 and 3800 blocks of Gaviota Avenue– the most recent being the early morning of Thursday, April 18, when a Cal Heights family found out their furniture that had been set out for pickup the next day caught fire.
The incident caused their fence to burn down and some of their pets to die in the flames, according to local reports.
Jake Heflin, public information officer with the Long Beach Fire Department, spoke to the Signal Tribune in a phone interview Wednesday, April 24, and confirmed that the department has suspicion to believe that the fires were set intentionally.
Heflin said the department is requesting the assistance of the public to try and identify any individual or individuals that may have been video taped by their home-security cameras.
“’Why is that person in the alley at 3 o’clock in the morning?’ Things like that,” Heflin said of potential footage. “[…] We’re also telling people that if you see something that looks suspicious, […] say something. And certainly the people that may be lingering for long periods of time in the alleys or look like they’re up to no good. Those are the kinds of things that we want to be cognizant and made aware of.”
In addition to trying to locate any suspects for the potential arson crime, Heflin added that residents should take preventative measures to avoid such disasters.
“[Residents can] keep alleys clean– free from debris and the waste that typically piles up in the alleys, because those are potential sources of ignition,” Heflin said. “People that are starting fires can just pop by and start something in a pile of trash [that] may extend into the fence line or the garage, for instance.”
When asked how the department is filtering through security footage and attempting to identify a suspect, Heflin said investigators are searching for any individuals who may have appeared consistently in certain areas and times that correspond with the potential arson incidents.
“Let’s say you see that individual on four or five different days out in the alley, and those days just happen to coincide with when we had reports of those fires, well this is somebody that we need to keep an eye on,” he said. “And the same may apply for another individual. So, there may be multiple individuals that have been witnessed in close proximity to where those fires may have started. […] Or they may be completely irrelevant. I mean maybe they just might be, you know, homeless people in the alley. There’s really no rhyme or reason, but the patterns and the consistency and the facial recognition, those can be important as far as identifying individuals of interest.”
Heflin added: “But I do know our fire investigators are working diligently on this process.”
Long Beach 7th District Councilmember Roberto Uranga’s office announced a public safety meeting, specifically focused on the California Heights area, for Thursday, May 2, from 6pm to 7pm, at the Miller Family Health Center, 3820 Cherry Ave.
The meeting will attempt to provide residents with information about how the city and its inter-agency partners work to address criminal activity and other public-safety concerns. According to Uranga’s office, officers with the Long Beach police and fire departments will be present to address any questions.
