2nd Arson Fire at Ventura Clinic Probed

A clinic that performs abortions in Ventura was damaged by a small arson fire early Thursday, the second such attack on the building in two years, authorities said.

The fire, which shattered a glass door and blackened the back entrance, has triggered what authorities say is Ventura County’s first investigation under the 1994 Freedom of Access law that makes it a federal crime to use violence to injure or intimidate clinic staffs or their patients.

“To my understanding, this is the first act of violence against a reproductive health facility in this county since the passage of the act,” said Ventura Police Detective Jeanne Boger.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are working with Ventura police in investigating the blaze. There are no witnesses and no suspects, Boger said.

The fire at the Family Planning Associates Medical Group on East Thompson Boulevard was reported by an alarm company at 5:25 a.m., after heat-sensitive water sprinklers outside the rear entrance were activated.

When firefighters arrived four minutes later, they found a tire burning against double glass doors at the rear. Several small, plastic bottles had been placed inside. The pile appeared to have been doused with flammable liquid, authorities said.

“It had the smell and appearance of a flammable liquid . . . a lot like gasoline,” Ventura Fire Capt. Don McPherson said.

Firefighters quickly doused the flames, which scorched the doors. No one was injured.

A security guard on duty at the clinic told firefighters that he had noticed nothing unusual until the alarm sounded. A receptionist at the clinic Thursday said the company has a policy of not commenting on such incidents.

McPherson estimated damage at about $1,000. No suspects have been identified, but the investigation is continuing.

The clinic, which has been the object of demonstrations in the past, had not received threats recently, employees told Boger.

However, the facility was the target of arson in November, 1993. On a Sunday evening, someone tossed a flare bundled with a flammable object onto the clinic’s roof. The fire caused little damage but forced firefighters to cut a 4-by-4-foot section out of the attic to stop the spread of flames.

No arrests were made in that incident, which remains under investigation.