This morning, Alameda Police released the names and photos of the two men suspected of deliberately setting eight separate fires around the city of Alameda Sunday morning that damaged or destroyed several homes and businesses. The suspects are Stephen Michael Petersen, 27, an Alameda resident, and Andrew Gutierrez, 22, a transient.
Alameda Fire responding to a blaze (Alameda FD)
The fires all occurred within a seven block radius between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., according to an Alameda County Fire Department press release. In chronological order, the fires took place at the following locations:
1. 1300 block of Regent Street
2. 2000 block of San Antonio Avenue
3. 1100 block of Regent Street
4. 2200 block of San Antonio Avenue
5. 1000 block of Willow Street
6. 2200 block of Encinal Avenue
7. 1600 block of Park Street
8. 1500 block of Park Street
Four families were displaced from their homes and five businesses were damaged or destroyed as a result of the fires. The Red Cross is working with the displaced families to find them shelter. No injuries to civilians or firefighters have been reported.
Fire crews work on one of the blazes (Alameda FD)
At a press conference yesterday, Alameda Fire Chief Michael D’Orazi said a total of 40 Alameda firefighters responded to the fires. They received additional help from 35 mutual aid firefighters from departments in Oakland, Alameda County and Berkeley.
Most of the fires began as car fires or garbage can fires that spread to nearby homes and businesses. The largest fire, the one in the 1600 block of Park Street that resulted in the damage or destruction of the five businesses, started as a car fire. “The car fires were part of the bigger fires,” said D’Orazi. “They were what we call external starts. They were set outside of the building, including the largest one here on Park Street, which was set underneath or close to a vehicle that was parked next to the building. The vehicle caught on fire then the fire spread to the building soon after.”
D’Orazi stated that there are no damage estimates at the moment. “It’s going to take a while before we can get to that,” he said.
Stephen Petersen Marching for Animal Liberation with Direct Action Everywhere and an image playing guitar from Facebook.
Alameda Police are working with the Alameda Fire Department and the Arson Task Force to investigate the fires and try to determine a motive. Petersen is an animal rights activist, as well as a songwriter and music producer at Autumn’s End Records, according to his Facebook page. His profile states “I operate and manage a small record company, mainly for my own records and the records I produce with my father. Until I get more going, I also record demos for local bands… Playing music and writing songs is my life :)” He is also a graduate for San Francisco State University as an English Literature major. It is not clear if his activities had any part in his motivation, or what connection Gutierrez has to him.
Both suspects are being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Gutierrez’s bail is set at $1 million. Petersen’s bail is set at $750,000. Both men are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon.
Read More:
SFGate: Two suspects identified in string of Alameda arsons
