Bomb squad officers
and arson dogs searched two parking garages at an apartment complex
near the Trader Joe’s in South San Francisco early Sunday morning after
a string of car fires were started one after the other on the 100 block
of McLellan Drive, according to police.
The suspect, or suspects, allegedly started three more fires
after police and fire officials responded to the first incident,
according to police.
The fires are being investigated as arson, according to police.
The first fire broke out at a parking structure at the Archstone
Apartments on the 100 block of McLellan Drive at El Camino Real. Police
and firefighters responded to the scene at 1:08 a.m. on the second
floor of the parking structure and found a car on fire, according to
police.
A second fire was located across the street on the third floor
of an adjacent parking structure while officers were concluding their
investigation of the first fire, according to police.
At the same time, a third fire was reported in a dumpster to the rear of a business only blocks away, according to police.
While still responding to the second and third fires, a fourth
fire broke out at the same parking structure at 4:07 a.m. where the
first fire was reported, this time on the third floor.
The San Mateo County Bomb Squad responded with an arson dog and searched both parking structures for clues, according to police.
The fires seem related with the exception of the dumpster fire
because of the timing, pattern and proximity to the other fires,
according to police. Three cars were likely totaled in the fires,
according to police.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding
these fires is encouraged to contact the police department at (650)
877-8900 or the fire department at (650) 829-6645.