Evacuees See Gas Firm as Another Peril

About 75 Placentia residents, evacuated from their homes by the June 22 pesticide warehouse fire in Anaheim, met on Friday night to discuss action they hope will lead to the removal of a propane gas company from their neighborhood, as well as tougher legislation to ban toxic chemicals in densely populated areas.

Organized by a representative of the law firm involved in a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the City of Anaheim and the Larry Fricker Co., the meeting was attended by none of the city officials whom organizer Jaimie Romero said she had invited. Instead, the featured speaker was Walter Goode, an investigator representing the San Francisco-based law firm headed by Melvin Belli, which filed the class-action suit.

Goode said the meeting was not related to the lawsuit, which he said asks for $10,000 for each of the 7,500 or more persons evacuated because of the fire at the Fricker warehouse and an additional $100 million in punitive damages.

Testimony Asked

At Goode’s urging during the meeting at McFadden Park’s Whitten Community Center, Romero invited “testimony” from the crowd attending the session, which she described as the first of many town meetings.

Most residents in attendance, nearly all of them Latino, spoke of the inconveniences of being evacuated from their homes June 24. Some complained that they should have been notified of the dangers the night of the fire, and not two days later. Several said either themselves or their children had rashes and allergy-like symptoms after the fire.

“My children became ill,” Maria Hernandez said of her 11-month-old twins, two of her five children. “They (the authorities) didn’t notify us until after it happened. They should have done something about it the first day.”

“All these corporations are not safe for us, especially Pargas,” Hernandez told the group.

With about 400 signatures annexed to a petition that “forbid(s) the chemicals that are very dangerous in the area that we live in,” Romero targeted Pargas of Anaheim Inc. at 535 S. Melrose St. in Placentia. The propane gas company, Romero said, poses a danger to the community and should move its business elsewhere.

Ray Shaeffer, manager of the gas company, was not surprised when he learned Friday afternoon of the residents’ demands.

“I kind of expected something to be said after the Fricker deal,” Shaeffer said. “Anytime there’s a disaster like this, they’re going to start looking at everything that is hazardous. And as far as I’m concerned, we’re no more dangerous than the gas station on the corner.”

No Plan to Leave

Pargas has no plans to move its business, which has been in Placentia for 11 years, Shaeffer said. No accidents have ever occurred at the plant, where the propane is kept in storage tanks, he said. “We’re patrolled by our own people and the state periodically inspects us, as does the county Fire Department.”

Residents such as Maria Ornelas said the gas company was “too close” to their homes. “I think we ought to do something about it. There are a lot of little kids around here,” she said before the meeting.

Romero said there are other companies, such as pesticide firms, in the area and residents would like to see those companies move. Romero could not name the firms Friday night. Goode said he did not want to because the companies may be targets of a future lawsuit.

In the class-action suit, filed on behalf of Romero and resident Gerrard Tejalle, Goode said the companies that provided the Anaheim warehouse with chemicals also will be sued, along with the city and the Fricker Co.

“Whoever supplied chemicals to that company is in trouble,” Goode said. “They should have known (of the potential for an accident).”

A second suit filed against Fricker by Anaheim residents Paul and Esther Isenberg seeks $500 million in damages.

Firms Must Leave

Romero said that the only way to rid the area of potential dangers is to remove companies that store toxic elements.

“It’s always people in the lower economic areas--in the barrios--that are affected,” Goode told the crowd in English before some of his statements were translated to Spanish.

Both Goode and Romero urged the crowd to form a support group. “I want you to help me to do something about this. I can’t do this by myself,” Goode repeatedly told the group.

After the hourlong meeting, everyone in the group formed a line to affix their signatures to a paper as a commitment that they would return and protest at Anaheim City Council meetings if necessary.

“Each city council is to blame for letting them (companies such as Fricker) come in,” said one resident.