A homeless man tried to set fire to the Santa Monica Daily Press (SMDP) building on Monday and the suspect remained on the loose by the time the newspaper went to press.
The incident occurred just days after the building was burglarized and follows a recent squatting incident at the adjacent property.
Monday’s incident began at about 9am when SMDP employees saw a man approach the building from the south end of the 1600 block of 5th Street. The suspect appeared to be trying to enter the property and when employees went to contact building security, they saw the suspect crouching at the corner of the front door trying to ignite debris. SMDP staff saw the suspect holding a piece of flaming trash and exited the building to confront the suspect who threw the ember into the storm drain underneath the sidewalk before walking away.
The debris and trash in the storm drain quickly caught fire sending smoke into the street prompting multiple calls to 9-1-1.
The Santa Monica Fire Department responded within minutes to extinguish the flames. Photos and a description of the suspect were given to officers and the suspect was last seen walking into Palisades Park.
The fire comes just a few days after multiple burglaries in the building.
Last week, an unidentified individual broke into the building on the 1600 block of 5th Street, causing damage to several offices within the property. The suspect is thought to have gained entry by breaking a window in a vacant office and then used a fire extinguisher to force open doors without deadbolts. Although most of the building is unoccupied, several businesses remain open and the suspect ransacked the occupied offices that they were able to access.
Both incidents follow the recent removal of about a dozen homeless squatters from the city owned property adjacent to the office.
Police officers first removed 10 people living in what used to be an office building. The property has been vacant for more than a decade and is considered surplus land by the City. After removing the first group, city contractors returned to the property to begin cleanup and another two homeless individuals were found in the property.
matt@smdp.com