Two men suspected of setting 26 fires in Long Beach

Caldrin Benitez and Juan Alvarez, both 22, are suspected of setting fire to vehicles, trees, Dumpsters and building exteriors in a four- to six-block radius of West Long Beach, said Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Mike Duree.

The fires began June 30 with four trash fires, three vehicle fires and one brush fire reported in the first 24 hours, Duree said. Subsequent fires set to homes and businesses caused no structural damage, and there have been no reported injuries, he said.

The fires were all set in the same general area, bordered by Spring and Willow streets and Adriatic and Santa Fe avenues. Although they were set at various times of the day, the fires all followed a similar pattern, Duree said.

All the fires were set in the same area where Benitez and Alvarez lived and seemed opportunistic, he said.

"Whatever was lit on fire to begin with just seemed to be there," he said. "A consecutive string of fires that meet a certain pattern, this is not the norm."

Investigators from the Long Beach police and fire departments used surveillance video to identify the suspects, Duree said.

In one video, from a security camera located outside an AM/PM mini-mart on the corner of Willow and Santa Fe, Benitez and Alvarez are shown walking into the frame, where smoke and fire are visible in the corner, and then leaving the scene, he said.

Benitez and Alvarez are in jail pending charges, Duree said. He added that investigators have detained a third person of interest for questioning.

joanna.lin@latimes.com