Someone set two small fires at the "Mrs. Doubtfire" home in San Francisco, made famous by the film starring Robin Williams, and police are investigating a former patient of the homeowner as a possible suspect.
Police, who were staked out at the home in the ritzy Pacific Heights neighborhood on Tuesday morning, were investigating whether the home was targeted because of what current owner Dr. Douglas K. Ousterhout, a plastic surgeon who works on transgender patients, does for a living. Ousterhout is considered among the nation's top craniofacial surgeons, and in a past interview with NBC Bay Area said he turns "boys' faces into girls' faces."
San Francisco Police Spokesman Albie Esparza told NBC Bay Area on Tuesday that Ousterhout told investigators a former patient of his could be behind the fires, making that person a likely suspect. Esparza would not go into further detail.
Still, he said police weren't taking any chances, and they staked a couple of patrol cars outside the home on Steiner Street.
"Obviously this was an intentional act," Esparza said. "We don't want to see the suspect try to come back and finish the job."
The fires, which police and firefighters suspect was set by an arsonist, scorched a doormat and the side of the garage at 2640 Steiner Street. They were set about 8 p.m. Ousterhout, who declined to be interviewed, was able to stamp the porch fire out himself.
Ousterhout's home became an important memorial site in the wake of Williams' death, as mourners came for days to leave flowers and notes to the late comedian who committed suicide on Aug. 14.
In August, Ousterhout told NBC Bay Area he wanted to buy the home shortly after it appeared in the 1993 movie, describing it as "convenient" to his work in the Castro, a "nice bachelor pad," albeit "small."
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The home, however, is still a big draw for tourists. Jason and Kerri Bilson of Australia came by Tuesday just for that reason. They were going to visit the house anyway, but were more intrigued when they heard about the arson.
"We were very curious to see what was going on, " Bilson said.
Stephanie Chuang contributed to this report.
