VIDEO- Arsonist Films Abandoned House Fire in San Ramon
New video obtained by Danville/San Ramon Updates shows an alleged arsonist in the act of burning down an abandoned building in unincorporated San Ramon.
Firefighters were first dispatched to the blaze in the 18800 block of Bollinger Canyon Road in unincorporated San Ramon after someone reported smoke and flames coming from an abandoned building. Arriving firefighters found the building fully engulfed in flames but had the blaze extinguished within 20 minutes (original story).
While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, new clues have been brought to the attention of investigators through exclusive video obtained by Danville/San Ramon Updates.
“Both of the abandoned house fires were arson acts, I am the one who committed them.”
Two videos totaling 28 seconds in length were submitted to Danville/San Ramon Updates from an anonymous internet user. One video shows a fire inside the abandoned building minutes before it burned down while a male voice alleges that he started the fire inside the building. The user who submitted the videos claimed responsibility for not only setting the fire shown in the video, but also for setting another suspicious house fire that took place a day later in Danville (see story). In a message to the news website, the individual explicitly confessed their role in the fires, stating, “Both of the abandoned house fires were arson acts, I am the one who committed them.”
In the first 19-second video, which appears to be filmed in the abandoned building located in unincorporated San Ramon, a male subject can be heard repeatedly saying “we started a fire in the ‘bando.” The subject refers to the abandoned building as the “bando,” which according to The Urban Dictionary, is “an abandoned house, a term usually used in the hood.”
As the unidentified subject pans the camera to show the property, he explains: “Out in San Ramon in my ‘bando, just chillin’, chillin’ in my ‘bando.” Many landmarks such as recognizable buildings can be identified as landmarks that exist on the same property that firefighters responded to battle the blaze in San Ramon- affirming the conviction that the video was filmed in the same building that was badly damaged in the March 22nd fire.
The person filming the video walks into the building, exclaiming “I set this b*tch on fire.” Old furniture can be seen on the floor, displaced along with what appears to be old clothing and debris. As the subject steps inside the building, an orange glow can be seen from a room inside. The camera pans into an open doorway, where open flames are seen radiating from a pile debris inside the room.
An additional unrecognizable voice can be faintly heard yelling “get out” from outside the house. Then, the unidentified subject filming the fire abruptly turns and runs out of the building just before the video ends.
A separate, 9-second long video shows the aftermath of the fire from outside the building, possibly filmed in the days after the fire. As the camera pans the exterior wall to show the damaged building, an unidentified subject exclaims, “Don’t you ever f*%k with me.. Don’t you ever f*%k with me, or my [unrecognizable].” Though unclear, it seems that the subject is cursing at the tattered, abandoned building rather than any specific person. Significant structural damage, including charred wood can be seen throughout the video. The subject ends the video after cursing at the “bando.”
Danville/San Ramon Updates has submitted all of the information they received to investigators. Officials from the San Ramon Valley Fire Department, Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office and Danville Police Department are investigating.
The cause of either fire is still unknown.
