San Bernardino firefighters responded to reports of a structure fire at the abandoned Carousel Mall in San Bernardino.
Arriving units found a possible arson suspect inside the burning building and called the San Bernardino Police Department to detain the individual.
The Sun reported that Mayor John Valdivia has now called for the abandoned mall to be torn down.
“The Carousel Mall is a hazard now,” Valdivia said. “We need to demolish it ASAP.”
In recent months, San Bernardino County fire crews responded to two to three small fires a week at the mall, according to City Spokesman Jeff Kraus.
Entrances at the Carousel Mall have been boarded up the past five years, but vandals and transients have repeatedly found ways in, according to The Sun.
It took firefighter nearly 40 minutes to find the seat of the fire due to heavy pressurized smoke coming from the interior of the building.
