A 47-year-old man is accused of intentionally starting three fires in the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Canoga Park and the Fashion District.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Cyrus Farsaad with one felony count of arson of property and two counts of arson of a structure.

He pleaded not guilty. Farsaad was being held in lieu of a $200,000 bail. 

Prosecutors said he faces 14 years and four months in prison if convicted as charged.

“Serial arsonists pose a grave threat to our communities. They threaten property, livelihoods and put lives at risk,” LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.   

Prosecutors accused Farsaad of setting ablaze a gentleman’s club and igniting a fire inside an electrical vault in early March. 

The series of arsons started on March 2, when Farsaad allegedly started a fire inside an electrical vault inside a Fashion District warehouse. While the flames extinguished themselves, Farsaad allegedly returned and set the electrical vault on fire again six days later. 

The blaze caused minor damage to the warehouse, but no one was injured. 

In between the warehouse fires, on March 5, Farsaad allegedly traveled to a gentleman’s club in Canoga Park and set it on fire, causing significant charring, heat and smoke damage to the building, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

“Serial arson is not a property crime. It is a direct threat to civilian lives and to every firefighter we send in to stop it,” Chief Thomas Raymond, Los Angeles Fire Department, Arson Counter-Terrorism Section, said. “The work that goes into building these cases is significant and it takes time, trust between agencies, and investigators who stay the course.”

Farsaad is expected back in court on April 7.