Authorities have surveillance footage showing the suspected arsonist in last December's spectacular downtown L.A. apartment complex fire parking his vehicle on the 110 Freeway and walking into the half-built structure with cans of fuel, a fire official told a community group.

Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Ruda last week informed members of Echo Park's neighborhood council ofnew details about the fire, which caused tens of millions of dollars in damage. He saidthe suspect was still at large.

Officials have offered a $170,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the arsonist behind the blaze that consumed a seven-story building in the Da Vinci apartment complex and damaged the freeway and neighboring buildings.

Investigators believe the suspect "torched that building up from the freeway side and then escaped, Ruda told the audience of about 20, according to a recording made by an audience member.

Ruda referred questions to fire spokesman Peter Sanders, who said in an email: "To protect the integrity of theinvestigation, Ican neither confirm nor deny what Chief Ruda said last week."

"The investigation into the cause of the Da Vinci fire is ongoing. The LAFD, in conjunction with its law enforcement partners, continues to review surveillancevideo from multiple sources and pursue multiple leads in this case. To protect the integrity of the investigation, we cannot at this time discuss details of the evidence collected thus far," he said.

The Dec. 8 fire broke out about 1:20 a.m., sending towering flames into the night sky and spewing ash across a large swath of downtown. The fire rapidly consumed most of the wood-framed structure. More than 250 firefighters battled the blaze for about an hour and half. No injuries were reported.

Fire officials said in the immediate aftermath of the fire that the circumstances, including how quickly the building was engulfed, were suspicious. City officials have estimated that the fire caused between $25 million and $30 million in damage.

Authorities have previously released footage of two other passersby whom they said they wanted to interview as potential witnesses one was shown on video walking by the building before the fire started, and a second tried to climb a fence to get into the burning building and had to be deterred by firefighters. Officials have not released footage of the personwith the fuel cans.

At last weeks meeting, Ruda assured residents that arson investigators, working with agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were pressing ahead in their effort to identify and capture the suspect.

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Video shows suspect in massive downtown L.A. arson fire, officials say

Authorities have surveillance footage showing the suspected arsonist in last December's spectacular downtown L.A. apartment complex fire parking his vehicle on the 110 Freeway and walking into the half-built structure with cans of fuel, a fire official told a community group.

Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Ruda last week informed members of Echo Park's neighborhood council ofnew details about the fire, which caused tens of millions of dollars in damage. He saidthe suspect was still at large.

Officials have offered a $170,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the arsonist behind the blaze that consumed a seven-story building in the Da Vinci apartment complex and damaged the freeway and neighboring buildings.

Investigators believe the suspect "torched that building up from the freeway side and then escaped, Ruda told the audience of about 20, according to a recording made by an audience member.

Ruda referred questions to fire spokesman Peter Sanders, who said in an email: "To protect the integrity of theinvestigation, Ican neither confirm nor deny what Chief Ruda said last week."

"The investigation into the cause of the Da Vinci fire is ongoing. The LAFD, in conjunction with its law enforcement partners, continues to review surveillancevideo from multiple sources and pursue multiple leads in this case. To protect the integrity of the investigation, we cannot at this time discuss details of the evidence collected thus far," he said.

The Dec. 8 fire broke out about 1:20 a.m., sending towering flames into the night sky and spewing ash across a large swath of downtown. The fire rapidly consumed most of the wood-framed structure. More than 250 firefighters battled the blaze for about an hour and half. No injuries were reported.

Fire officials said in the immediate aftermath of the fire that the circumstances, including how quickly the building was engulfed, were suspicious. City officials have estimated that the fire caused between $25 million and $30 million in damage.

Authorities have previously released footage of two other passersby whom they said they wanted to interview as potential witnesses one was shown on video walking by the building before the fire started, and a second tried to climb a fence to get into the burning building and had to be deterred by firefighters. Officials have not released footage of the personwith the fuel cans.

At last weeks meeting, Ruda assured residents that arson investigators, working with agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were pressing ahead in their effort to identify and capture the suspect.

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Video shows suspect in massive downtown L.A. arson fire, official says

At least 19 people were injured, four of them critically, when an explosion and seven-alarm fire destroyed an apartment building and burned three other structures in New York City's East Village Thursday.

At an evening news conference, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said a preliminary investigation indicated that a gas explosion caused by plumbing and gas work in the building that collapsed was to blame. The New York Post reported that construction crews accidentally "hit a gas main."

Craig Ivey, the president of utility company Con Edison said a plumber had been doing work connected to a gas service upgrade, and inspectors had been there to check on a planned meter installation an hour before the fire. But the work failed the inspection, partly because a space for the new meters wasn't big enough, and the inspectors said gas couldn't be introduced to that part of the building, Con Ed said.

De Blasio said no one had reported a gas leak before Thursday's explosion, and Con Edison said it had surveyed the gas mains on the block Wednesday and found no leaks. But bystander Blake Farber, who lives around the corner, told the Associated Press he'd been walking by the building and smelled gas seconds before the big blast.

Smoke from the fire could be seen and smelled across the city in the hours after the explosion, which occurred at around 3:15 p.m. local time. Flames shot out of the top of the five-story building at 2nd Avenue and 7th Street. Items from a ground-floor sushi restaurant were blown into the street, while the force of the explosion blew a cafe door across the avenue. Rubble, glass and debris littered the sidewalks.

The area was evacuated, and the city's health department advised residents to keep their windows closed because of the smoke. Firefighters continued pouring water on the buildings for hours after the explosion, in an area of old tenement buildings that are home to students and longtime residents near New York University and Washington Square Park. At least one family sought help at an American Red Cross relief center set up at a school.

In addition to the collapsed building, at 121 2nd Avenue, another building next door was "in danger of possible collapse," according to FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro. Two other nearby buildings were affected by the explosion.

Adil Choudhury, who lives a block away, ran outside when he heard "a huge boom."

"Already there was smoke everywhere" when he saw the building, he told The Associated Press. "The flames were coming out from the roof. The fire was coming out of every window."

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19 injured, 4 critically, in NYC building explosion - VIDEO: 'Major' building collapse in NYC - VIDEO: Seven-alarm ...

At least 19 people were injured, four of them critically, when an explosion and seven-alarm fire destroyed an apartment building and burned three other structures in New York City's East Village Thursday.

At an evening news conference, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said a preliminary investigation indicated that a gas explosion caused by plumbing and gas work in the building that collapsed was to blame. The New York Post reported that construction crews accidentally "hit a gas main."

Craig Ivey, the president of utility company Con Edison said a plumber had been doing work connected to a gas service upgrade, and inspectors had been there to check on a planned meter installation an hour before the fire. But the work failed the inspection, partly because a space for the new meters wasn't big enough, and the inspectors said gas couldn't be introduced to that part of the building, Con Ed said.

De Blasio said no one had reported a gas leak before Thursday's explosion, and Con Edison said it had surveyed the gas mains on the block Wednesday and found no leaks. But bystander Blake Farber, who lives around the corner, told the Associated Press he'd been walking by the building and smelled gas seconds before the big blast.

Smoke from the fire could be seen and smelled across the city in the hours after the explosion, which occurred at around 3:15 p.m. local time. Flames shot out of the top of the five-story building at 2nd Avenue and 7th Street. Items from a ground-floor sushi restaurant were blown into the street, while the force of the explosion blew a cafe door across the avenue. Rubble, glass and debris littered the sidewalks.

The area was evacuated, and the city's health department advised residents to keep their windows closed because of the smoke. Firefighters continued pouring water on the buildings for hours after the explosion, in an area of old tenement buildings that are home to students and longtime residents near New York University and Washington Square Park. At least one family sought help at an American Red Cross relief center set up at a school.

In addition to the collapsed building, at 121 2nd Avenue, another building next door was "in danger of possible collapse," according to FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro. Two other nearby buildings were affected by the explosion.

Adil Choudhury, who lives a block away, ran outside when he heard "a huge boom."

"Already there was smoke everywhere" when he saw the building, he told The Associated Press. "The flames were coming out from the roof. The fire was coming out of every window."

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12 injured, 3 critically, in NYC building explosion - VIDEO: 'Major' building collapse in NYC - VIDEO: Seven-alarm ...

Published: 9:18AM Friday March 27, 2015 Source: ONE News/AP

Accounts of desperate attempts to flee a raging New York inferno are emerging, with residents seen jumping from fire escapes as they tried to get to safety.

Up to 30 people are thought to be injured in the "major building collapse" during the apartment fire near the corner of Second Avenue and East Seventh Street in Manhattan's East Village.

Niraj Desai, 36, who works nearby, said he saw one woman stuck on a fire escape struggling to get the ladder unhooked, The New York Times reported.

"This poor girl was stuck upstairs," Mr. Desai said. "She was having a hard time. You could tell there was a lot of emotion going on. A bunch of guys were down at the bottom helping her get down."

Another man also made his way down the fire escape ladder before smoke started to pour from the building, he said.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, speaking at a news conference at the scene, said that "preliminary evidence suggests a gas-related explosion" was caused by plumbing and gas work nearby.

Construction worker Matty Disilvestro also described the scene of chaos as the fire engulfed the Manhattan apartment block this morning.

"I heard a loud explosion, just a very loud vibrating boom.People who were on the sidewalks and even people on the opposite side of the street were hit with debris,"told The New York Post.

Robert Shapiro witnessed the fire from nearby cafe. He described the intensity of the fire. "I've never seen such an aggressive fire - it was like they were pouring gas on it," he told the New York Post.

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Residents jump from Manhattan apartment to escape raging inferno

Curtis Johnson / The Herald-Dispatch Debris lies and smoke rises early Friday from an apartment building destroyed by fire at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 8th Street near downtown Huntington.

Curtis Johnson / The Herald-Dispatch Debris lies and smoke rises early Friday from an apartment building destroyed by fire at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 8th Street near downtown Huntington.

Curtis Johnson / The Herald-Dispatch Debris lies and smoke rises early Friday from an apartment building destroyed by fire at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 8th Street near downtown Huntington.

Curtis Johnson / The Herald-Dispatch Debris lies and smoke rises early Friday from an apartment building destroyed by fire at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 8th Street near downtown Huntington.

Curtis Johnson / The Herald-Dispatch Debris lies and smoke rises early Friday from an apartment building destroyed by fire at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 8th Street near downtown Huntington.

Curtis Johnson / The Herald-Dispatch Debris lies and smoke rises early Friday from an apartment building destroyed by fire at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 8th Street near downtown Huntington.

Mar. 27, 2015 @ 11:01 PM

HUNTINGTON A fire destroyed a three-story apartment building early Friday, damaged another next door and closed a major thoroughfare into downtown Huntington.

Its flames and a partial collapse left five people looking for a new home, while a first-floor alterations company salvaged the inventory it could and pulled files as customers wondered about dresses inside the collapse zone.

Dispatchers learned of the fire at 3:44 a.m., but the call came too late for firefighters tasked with saving a building located just seconds from the city's main fire station.

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Fire destroys apartment building downtown

An apartment building exploded and burst into flames Thursday in New York City's East Village, injuring at least a dozen people, three of them critically, in what authorities said was a possible gas-related incident.

Flames could be seen shooting out of the top of the five-story building at 2nd Ave. and 7th Street, which partially collapsed shortly after the explosion at 3:20 p.m. Items from a ground-floor sushi restaurant were blown into a street, and the explosion was so forceful that it blew the door off a cafe across the avenue. Rubble, glass and debris littered sidewalks, and smoke could be seen and smelled for miles.

The FDNY reported it as a seven-alarm fire. Authorities said no firefighters or civilians were missing.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said at an early evening press conference that a preliminary report from utility Con Edison indicated that it was a gas-related explosion caused by plumbing and gas work. But he said it was too soon to speculate what, exactly, caused the blast.

"Until we know what happened here, we cannot pass judgment," de Blasio said. He confirmed that 12 people were injured, three of them critically, but said there were no immediate reports of fatalities.

Con Edison inspection crews visited the building about an hour before the explosion to evaluate a planned installation of a meter during ongoing construction, utility president Craig Ivey said. But the meter didn't pass the inspection, meaning it wasn't ready for gas to be introduced.

De Blasio said there was no indication anyone called to report a possible gas leak. Con Edison crews were at the scene and planned to start investigating after firefighters got the blaze under control.

Another building next door was "in danger of possible collapse," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said, and two other nearby buildings were affected by the explosion.

About 250 firefighters were at the scene early Thursday evening.

The area was being evacuated, and the city's health department advised residents to keep their windows closed because of the smoke.

Continued here:
RAGING NYC BLAZE At least a dozen injured after building explodes

7:30 P.M.

The Fire Department of New York says four people are in critical condition among a dozen injured in an explosion, building collapse and fire in Manhattan's East Village.

Officials initially said three were critically hurt in Thursday's blast. Firefighter Ed Long says the tally is up to four.

Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH'-zee-oh) says preliminary evidence suggests a gas-related explosion is to blame. He says plumbing and gas work appear to have sparked the problem inside one building.

That building collapsed. A second building partially collapsed. The fire and blast ultimately affected four buildings near New York University and Washington Square Park.

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro (NEYE'-groh) has said a third building is in danger of collapse.

___

6:45 P.M.

The American Red Cross is helping people displaced by an explosion, building collapse and fire in Manhattan's East Village.

The regional CEO for the aid organization's New York chapter says one family so far has come into a relief center set up at a nearby school after Thursday's blast.

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Latest on NY fire, building collapse: Partial collapse, too

Reuters

A residential apartment building collapses and is engulfed in flames in New York City's East Village neighbourhood, critically injuring four.

A five-storey building apartment building exploded "like a bomb" in New York City, then caught fire and collapsed. At least a dozen people were injured, with four in critical condition.

Stunned survivors spilled into the streets at Second Avenue and East 7th Street, and one brave soul scaled a fire escape and started kicking out windows until fire beat him back.

"I saw a man running out with his hair singed," Chloe Kekovic who works nearby, told the New York Daily News. "He was screaming at unable to see."

"It was like a bomb," Aleksandr Srdi, 32, who lives around the corner, told DNAInfo. "Everyone was like what's going on? People from Starbucks were yelling to get back inside and they were trying to lock the doors."

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said that preliminary evidence suggests a natural gas-related explosion. "That investigation is ongoing," he said.

There had been plumbing and gas work ongoing at 121 Second Avenue, and inspectors with the Con Edison utility were at the building hours earlier to check a meter installation. The unit didn't pass inspection and gas was not turned back on at the meter, Con Ed's president, Craig Ivey, told reporters.

Construction worker Matty Disilvestro, 51, told the New York Post he felt "the pressure of the blast" a block away.

"I heard a loud explosion, just a very loud vibrating boom.People who were on the sidewalks and even people on the opposite side of the street were hit with debris," he said.

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Building explosion in NYC triggers huge blaze; gas leak suspected

Reuters

A residential apartment building collapses and is engulfed in flames in New York City's East Village neighbourhood, critically injuring four.

A five-storey building apartment building exploded "like a bomb" in New York City, then caught fire and collapsed. At least a dozen people were injured, with four in critical condition.

Stunned survivors spilled into the streets at Second Avenue and East 7th Street, and one brave soul scaled a fire escape and started kicking out windows until fire beat him back.

"I saw a man running out with his hair singed," Chloe Kekovic who works nearby, told the New York Daily News. "He was screaming at unable to see."

"It was like a bomb," Aleksandr Srdi, 32, who lives around the corner, told DNAInfo. "Everyone was like what's going on? People from Starbucks were yelling to get back inside and they were trying to lock the doors."

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said that preliminary evidence suggests a natural gas-related explosion. "That investigation is ongoing," he said.

There had been plumbing and gas work ongoing at 121 Second Avenue, and inspectors with the Con Edison utility were at the building hours earlier to check a meter installation. The unit didn't pass inspection and gas was not turned back on at the meter, Con Ed's president, Craig Ivey, told reporters.

Construction worker Matty Disilvestro, 51, told the New York Post he felt "the pressure of the blast" a block away.

"I heard a loud explosion, just a very loud vibrating boom.People who were on the sidewalks and even people on the opposite side of the street were hit with debris," he said.

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Building explosion in NYC triggers huge blaze