Crime & Safety

Investigators Say Arson is Cause of Fire at Mathewson's Old Store in Banning

Anyone with information was urged to call the Riverside County Arson Hotline at (800) 633-2836.

Investigators have determined arson was the cause of the fire Monday in the building behind the old Mathewson's Department Store, a Cal Fire spokeswoman said Tuesday morning.

The fire was reported at 1 p.m. Monday at 260 W. Ramsey St., and the "first arriving engine company reported black smoke visible from the rear of the building," Jody Hagemann of Cal Fire-Riverside County said in a statement.

"CAL FIRE/Riverside County Firefighters are on scene of commercial structure fire at a vacant building that was formerly a department store," Hagemann said.

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Six engine crews with 18 firefighters and four overhead personnel responded, Hagemann said.

Firefighters had to open holes in the roof and walls of the rear building to bring the fire under control, Cal Fire-Riverside County Capt. Mike Smith said at the scene.

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"The fire did spread up to the ceiling level," Smith said. "A team of firefighters went on the roof and cut a large opening to allow heat and smoke to exhaust itself and confine that fire from spreading laterally across the ceiling."

The fire was declared contained at 1:30 p.m., to a living area on the second floor of the rear structure behind the old store, Smith said. The fire was declared controlled at 2 p.m., Smith said.

The original structure that fronts on West Ramsey, which was built in the 1920s and has been condemned as unsafe for more than a year, was not damaged by the fire, Smith said.

"It's constructed of unre-enforced masonry and it's covered by an arch-style roof," Smith said. "Both are dangerous for firefighters. The rear half of the structure was added on at some point after, and it is compliant with modern building codes. However it is dilapidated and has been in disrepair for many years."

with Cal Fire, as well as Banning police, spent time at the scene of the fire Monday afternoon.

Sue Coder, who worked for Bud Mathewson when the store was open, said she believed a homeless person or a group were responsible for the blaze.

"It was transients," Coder said Monday. "The electricity's been shut off in there at least six, seven months. I was at the hospital when Bud died, and I've been afraid something like this might happen.

"I worked for Bud for 15 years when the store was open, and I helped clean this out after he died."

Mathewson, 88, died in May 2011. The long-time Banning resident was considered an area. A year ago to the date of the fire on Monday, held a sale outside the old store to raise money for Bud.

Investigators determined the cause of the fire was arson, Cheri Patterson of Cal Fire-Riverside County said in a phone interview Tuesday morning.

Anyone with information about how the fire started Monday was urged to call the Riverside County Arson Hotline at (800) 633-2836.


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