2 Arrested in Connection with New Year's Ave. Arson in Pasadena

Two men suspected of setting fire to an unoccupied house in Pasadena on New Year's Eve were arrested tonight during a raid involving a police SWAT team, sheriff's bomb squad and fire department arson investigators.

The suspects, one 28 and the other 18 years old, were arrested around 7:30 p.m. at their home in the 800 block of North Oakland Avenue, said Lisa Derderian of the Pasadena Fire Department.

The suspects lived about 100 feet from the burned house, which had been owned by a man who died several months ago, Derderian said.

The house, which had a chain link fence around it when it was set ablaze, was a mile north of the route of the Tournament of Roses Parade that took place the following day.

A Pasadena Fire Department arson investigator determined the blaze had been intentionally set after finding pipe bomb-making materials inside the house, which sustained an estimated $450,000 in damage, Derderian said.

The fire was reported at 10 p.m. on Dec. 31 and was knocked down by 33 firefighters within about 20 minutes, she said.

The inside of the house had pack rat conditions, she said.

The suspects, who have been under surveillance for the past several days, were arrested by law enforcement officers armed with a warrant, Derderian said. The sheriff's bomb squad was called in to bolster an already large police and fire department presence in case there were additional bomb-making materials in the suspects' house, Derderian said.

The arson was an isolated incident and neighbors should feel safe now that the suspects were in custody, Derderian said.