Palm Springs City Hall Fire Called Arson

Palm Springs Fire Marshal says a fire at Palm Springs City Hall was deliberately set. A pre-dawn blaze Sunday started at 2:30 A.M. in the engineering department at City Hall located at 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way.

Firefighters, who found smoke coming from a door on the north side of the building and water flowing from the building’s sprinkler system, kept the flames from spreading, according to Fire Marshal John Allen. “Fire crews quickly realized that there were abnormalities with the fire scene,” Allen said, but declined to elaborate on why determined that the fire was set on purpose.

He said no further details would be released due to the ongoing investigation. No one was injured and no other structures were threatened.

The city’s engineering, planning and building departments were closed today while offices were temporarily relocated, city spokeswoman Amy Blaisdell said. Anyone with information about the blaze was asked to call the fire department at (760) 322-8364, ext. 8614, or police at (760) 323-8140 or www.pspd.com.

Palm Springs businessman Harold Matzner is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the arsonist, Blaisdell said.