Fire at U.S. Consulate in Tijuana appears deliberate
U.S. and Mexican authorities collaborating in investigation
By Sandra Dibble | 5:14 p.m. Jan. 4, 2016 | Updated, 9:10 a.m. | Jan. 5, 2016
TIJUANA — A fire that broke out early New Year’s Day on the grounds of the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana seems to have been deliberately set, a consulate official said Monday.
Preeti Shah, the consulate’s public affairs officer, said that “an apparently intentional fire” destroyed four U.S. government vehicles and damaged a fifth one.
The vehicles were parked inside the consulate’s fenced compound near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. The consulate building was not damaged, and no injuries were reported in the fire, which broke out shortly before 1 a.m. Friday.
Tijuana firefighters were able to extinguish the flames quickly. Because the fire was on the grounds of a diplomatic facility, the investigation is being carried out by the Mexican Attorney General’s Office, in collaboration with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Shah said that as a result of the fire, the U.S. Consulate is working with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City to review the consulate’s security profile.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jan/04/fire-consulate-tijuana-deliberately-set/
