They survived the fire that raged down Chester Avenue of 1919 and the 1952 earthquake only to be done in by what appears to be arson. Monday, fire crews demolished two Bakersfield landmarks, each more than a century old, that burned down in a three-alarm fire on Sept. 7 in Downtown Bakersfield. The fire started around 10:15 p.m. in a building near Chester Avenue and 20th Street a few blocks away from the Fox Theater. Fire crews battled the blaze for about four hours before they were finally able to put it out. A neighboring business owner who wished to remain anonymous told 17 News that he often saw vagrants enter the structure through a fire escape in an alley. Fire officials have not announced what started the fire.