ARSON ON MARCH 7, 2002

There were a series of explosions on the night of March 7, 2002 in the area near Bryn Mawr and between Kostner and Hollywood, just to the west of the railroad tracks. The source was the igniting of canisters of flammable chemicals inside a van.

Alert neighbors ran to the scene about one minute before the police arrived (they responded within about two minutes of the final explosion). Witnesses saw a van, mired in mud and on fire, a pick-up truck parked nearby, and two men attempting to flee. One woman bravely stalled the men until the police arrived.

As the van and its contents belched out fire and billowing blobs of toxic smoke, the police began questioning the men. The driver of the van was
noticeably intoxicated and uncooperative. He claimed the tanks contained CO2 (Carbon Dioxide). The other man, who had been driving the pick-up truck, alleged he had shown up to rescue the van from the mud.

The van had been reported stolen.

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