Universal fire ‘sparked by blowtorch’
The fire that destroyed part of Universal Studios has been ruled an accident.
More than 100 fire-fighters were called to the blaze, which started at a sound stage in the early hours of Sunday.
Officials said the fire was caused by sparks from a blowtorch used to make repairs at the LA site. Two workers and a supervisor had been applying asphalt shingles to the roof of a building on the New York/New Jersey street set.
“The investigation has ruled out any deliberate actions on the part of anyone,” said LA County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman.
Nine firefighters and a sheriff’s deputy suffered minor injuries in the blaze, which destroyed most of the New York City street sets used in films such as ‘Back To The Future’, ‘Bruce Almighty’ and ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’.
A warehouse containing more than 40,000 videos and the King Kong part of the Universal Studios tram ride were also gutted.