Upon arrival at the Chinese Consulate at 1450 Laguna St. firefighters found the front door of the structure ablaze, a dispatcher said.
According to a statement released by a Chinese Consulate spokesperson on the consulate's website this morning, a person emerged from a minivan parked in front of the consulate's main entrance at about 9:25 p.m. and poured two buckets of gasoline onto the front door before setting it on fire.
According to a fire dispatcher, the fire was reported at 9:33 p.m. and was brought under control by firefighters at 9:42 p.m.
No injuries were reported and the fire is being investigated as an act of arson, a fire dispatcher said.
According to a Chinese Consulate spokesperson, San Francisco police and fire officials are working with the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security to investigate the fire.
The consulate spokesperson called the arson attack "a violent crime targeted at the Chinese consular institution in the United States" and urged the U.S. government to provide ample protection for all the consulate's personnel and its facilities.
