Arson Fire Put Out At Unoccupied Oceanside Movie Theater

OCEANSIDE, CA —Authorities said Thursday a fire was deliberately set in a plastic drainage pipe outside a movie theatre in downtown Oceanside with nobody inside at the time.

The fire was first reported at 10:20 p.m. Wednesday at the Regal Cinema at 401 Mission Ave., the Oceanside Fire Department said in a statement.

Fire crews found fire coming from a drainage pipe on the front wall of the theater and heavy smoke was billowing from the roof above, the OFD statement said.

Crews were assigned to make sure nobody was inside the theater, the OFD said.

Fire crews were able to contain the fire to the point of origin and found a room on the opposite side of the exterior wall that had been filled with smoke, fire officials said. Damage to the interior was kept to a minimum, they said.

The OFD said its investigators were at the scene looking for the cause of the fire and no suspects were immediately reported.

— City News Service