City News Service
HEMET, Calif. — Fire damaged a Hemet police training building in a remote area west of the city today, a day before the City Council will consider approving an emergency declaration allowing police to quickly secure resources needed to respond to a series of attacks on the department.
The fire, which was reported at 2 a.m., destroyed a 1,000-square-foot mobile home used as a classroom at the Hemet Police Department’s shooting range, according to Hemet police Capt. Dave Brown.
The wood-frame structure was badly charred in the blaze, and arson squads from several agencies spent the day gathering evidence there.
The building burned one day before the Hemet City Council considers declaring an emergency because of the recent attacks on city facilities and threats to gang task force personnel.
“Intelligence reports indicate that the police facility is the likely focus of future criminal acts,” Brown wrote in a staff report to the council.
The proposed ordinance, which would allow the police department to purchase equipment without going through a normally required bidding process, will be heard during the council’s 1 p.m. meeting Tuesday.
“A security assessment of city buildings indicates that the public access lobbies present a significant risk to city employees and resources,” Brown wrote in the staff report.
“Immediate action is required to harden these facilities and the delay resulting from a competitive bid process would result in increased exposure to criminal acts,” the report reads.
According to Brown, the resolution, if passed, would give the city manager the power to order “any action required to harden city facilities in response to this emergency without giving notice for bids to let contracts.”
In late March, four city code enforcement trucks were torched in the Hemet City Hall parking lot.
On March 5, a member of the Hemet/San Jacinto Gang Task Force found an explosive device attached to his unmarked patrol car when he pulled into a filling station in Hemet.
On Feb. 23, a member of the task force opened a gate at its headquarters and was nearly struck by a bullet discharged by a homemade “zip gun,” which was rigged to fire when the gate moved.
On Dec. 31, someone rerouted a natural gas line into the task force’s headquarters building, setting the stage for an explosion by a spark.
Police officials, however, have stopped short of blaming any one organization or even conceding that all the acts have been related.
“We will not speculate at this point until the investigators are able to complete their work,” Brown said.
The cause of today’s fire was not immediately released.
Copyright 2010 City News Service