(The following report appeared on the Pasadena Star News website on April 27.)
INDUSTRY, Calif. — Arson is suspected in a fire that charred a freight car Monday morning, causing about $1 million in damages.
The train was parked on Bonelli Street and 7th Avenue. The freight car that burned carried 15, 2005 Ford Mustangs.
The train was “sitting for several days’ on a side spur, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Ed Osorio.
The department received the call at 3:06 a.m., and the fire was extinguished in about an hour.
There were no injuries, officials said.
Osorio said six engines, one truck company, a hazardous materials team, a heavy Urban Search and Rescue unit, one paramedic unit, one patrol unit and an emergency support team rig responded to the scene, as did a sheriff’s arson investigator, a battalion chief, Union Pacific police and a Union Pacific representative.
Osorio said there were $500,000 in damages to the rail car and $500,000 in damage to the Mustangs. He said the cars were probably heading to an auto dealer in Los Angeles, but did not know for sure.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation by sheriff’s arson investigators.