Vacant Building Destroyed by Fire

Glendale Fire Department investigators suspect teen-agers or transients started a fire that destroyed a vacant three-story apartment building early Sunday.

The 3:57 a.m. blaze in the 50-unit apartment development at 726 S. Central Ave. burned for three hours before firefighters were able to extinguish it. The building, part of which collapsed during the fire, had been vacant about three months and was scheduled to be torn down, investigators said.

There were no injuries.

Fire Department investigator Dennis Wilson said the fire began on the first floor, which housed two apartments.

Investigators have not determined how the blaze began. But neighbors reported that teen-agers and transients often loiter around the building, which led investigators to speculate that loiterers may have started the fire, either accidentally or deliberately.