San Bernardino restaurant fire determined to be arson

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- A long-standing San Bernardino restaurant is a total loss following a fire, and investigators say the cause of the blaze was arson.

The fire at the No Name Cafe in the 1400 block of East Highland Avenue erupted around 11:46 p.m. Monday. When firefighters arrived around 11:49 p.m., flames were shooting through the roof.

"With recent budget cuts, we didn't have enough personnel here on scene immediately to get a handle on this fire," said Capt. Steve Tracy with the San Bernardino City Fire Department.

Fire officials said the flames tore through the attic area before being contained. No injuries were reported.

Crews said they saw a possible suspect running from the scene when the first engine arrived. The suspect was only described as a male adult.

"With the amount of fire that we came across when we first arrived, we highly doubt that this was an accidental incident," said Capt. Jason Serrano with the San Bernardino City Fire Department.

This was the second fire this month at the restaurant. San Bernardino fire officials said the first blaze on July 10 was considered an accident.

Rick Ankrum, who owns Modern Meat next door, said he couldn't believe he was getting a call from firefighters again.

"I thought it was Groundhog Day because about two weeks ago, I got the same phone call," Ankrum said. "It was very minor at that time, and then I thought to myself, 'Could this be an old message that just came through or what?'"

Fortunately, firefighters were able to keep the flames from reaching his business.

The first fire caused about $100,000 in property damage and mostly affected the interior of the restaurant, specifically the kitchen. A passerby suffered minor injuries to his hand after trying to break a window to make sure no one was inside.

The damage estimate for the latest fire was not immediately known.

Eyewitness News reached out to the city of San Bernardino regarding the budget cuts to the fire department but did not receive a response back.