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LAFD, ATF release videos of potential witnesses to DTLA fire
Image of one the potential witnesses to the Da Vinci complex fire in downtown Los Angeles.
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LAFD/ATF
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Image of one the potential witnesses to the Da Vinci complex fire in downtown Los Angeles.
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LAFD/ATF
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A photo taken by an eyewitness shows flames rising from a massive construction site fire in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, December 8, 2014.
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Courtesy of KaOri Pamon and Rejeana Black
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A photo taken by an eyewitness shows flames rising from a massive construction site fire in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, December 8, 2014.
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Courtesy of KaOri Pamon and Rejeana Black
)
An early-morning fire consumed a seven-story apartment complex that was still under construction in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 8, 2014.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Windows in an office building across N Fremont Avenue were blown out because of heat after an early-morning fire consumed a seven-story apartment complex that was still under construction in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 8, 2014.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Burned wood lays on N Fremont Avenue after an early-morning fire consumed a seven-story apartment complex that was still under construction in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 8, 2014.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Firefighters spray down smoldering scaffolding after an early-morning fire consumed a seven-story apartment complex that was still under construction in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 8, 2014.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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A million square-foot apartment complex that was still under construction caught fire early in the morning in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 8, 2014.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Firefighters continue to put out hot spots after an early-morning fire consumed a seven-story apartment complex that was still under construction in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 8, 2014.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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The Los Angeles Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Monday enlisted the public's help in the search for two individuals who may have been witnesses to last week's massive fire that destroyed the Da Vinci apartment complex in Downtown L.A.
The LAFD Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section and the ATF's National Response team released photos and videos of the men seen in two separate videos walking near the site of the December 8 fire at 900 West Temple Street. A firefighter can be seen grabbing one of the men as he tries to climb over a fence into the blaze.
The men "are not considered suspects or persons of interest," according to an LAFD press release. "Investigators have identified them as being in the area of the fire, and merely wish to interview them."
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nyB1YrUhVw
Special agent with the ATF Tom Mangan reiterated to KPCC that the two men were not targets of an investigation. "We surely want to interview them just for the fact that one individual was here at the vicinity of the fire," he said, referring to the man trying to climb the fence.
Based on the surveillance video from the second video, it was determined that the individual was walking across the street from the site prior to the fire.
He said personnel from the LAFD and the ATF were working "shoulder-to-shoulder" at the scene of the fire, "conducting interviews with investigative leads," though he would not comment on what those leads were, as the investigation is ongoing.
The seven story Da Vinci apartment complex was still under construction when the fire began in the early morning hours last Monday. The fire shut down parts of the 110 and 101 freeways by the afternoon.
Local and federal arson investigators have been looking into the cause of what one fire official called a "career fire."
Anyone with relevant information is urged to call the LAFD Arson Section at (213) 893-9850.
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This story has been updated.
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