Fire Which Razed Historic Santa Ana Church Ruled Arson; No Bodies Found

SANTA ANA (CBSLA) – A massive four-alarm blaze which tore through a more than century-old vacant church building in Santa Ana last week has been deemed an arson.

The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) reported Wednesday that investigators have determined that the May 7 blaze at the former United Presbyterian Church was intentionally sparked.

The building was known to be frequented by homeless people, officials said.

Investigators have also determined that no one died in the fire. It took an OCFA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force several days to canvas the rubble of the three-story building for possible human remains.

Crews had to first stabilize the structure enough to allow them to search it using human-remain detecting canines, OCFA said.

Santa Ana police and the O.C. coroner are assisting in the investigation. There was no word regarding whether detectives have identified a possible suspect.

The fire was reported before 2:30 a.m. on May 7 in the 100 block of Santa Ana Boulevard. Crews arrived on scene to find flames shooting into the sky and burning embers falling from the roof of the church.

It took 100 firefighters about two hours to bring the fire under control.

The building, which was built in 1911, formerly housed the United Presbyterian Church and was later home to Templo Calvario and the Orange County Pacific Symphony. It is listed on both the national and California registers.