Threat Claimed to Co-Owner of Fricker Firm

Relatives of the co-owner of the Larry Fricker agricultural supply company said Friday that he has been threatened repeatedly by a friend, who, on at least one occasion, vowed to “burn your business down.”

“The threats came from a friend, a former friend; it was a personal thing with Paul,” said Paul Etzold’s wife, Mary, who works at the Anaheim fertilizer and pesticide warehouse where a toxic fire broke out on June 22, prompting the evacuation of more than 7,500 people in three cities.

Meanwhile, Anaheim fire investigators announced Friday that the blaze, which started in a front office cubicle in the 5,000-square-foot building, was deliberately set by an arsonist.

“We’re convinced it is arson,” Anaheim Fire Investigator Michael Doty said Friday. “We’ve eliminated accidental sources (as a cause). It was intentionally set.”

Won’t Give Details

Doty refused to describe how the fire started, saying that to give any details could compromise the investigation.

Authorities are looking at a possible suspect in the case, sources close to the investigation said. No arrests have been made.

“There’d been a feud going with the guy who owns the place and a friend,” said an investigator familiar with the case.

The blaze, which was termed “suspicious” almost from the beginning, broke out shortly before 10:44 p.m. on June 22, and spread into the area where dangerous and highly flammable pesticides and fertilizers were stored. For four days, firefighters from Anaheim, Huntington Beach and the Orange County Fire Department battled the touchy fire, which smoldered and spewed chemical fumes into surrounding neighborhoods.

By midday on June 24, more than 7,500 residents of Anaheim, Placentia and Fullerton had been evacuated to American Red Cross shelters at local schools. Two people were hospitalized for exposure to chemical fumes, and 40 others were treated at hospitals for symptoms that included shortness of breath, scratchy throats, headaches and nausea.

Two Freeways Closed

Parts of two freeways were shut down to protect commuters from potentially hazardous fumes, and businesses in the commercial/industrial area were closed for several days.

It was called Orange County’s worst environmental emergency. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency called in the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team, which has experience in handling hazardous waste incidents. The EPA-supervised cleanup under the emergency Superfund program took about two weeks and was estimated to cost up to $250,000.

City spokeswoman Sheri Erlewine said Paul Etzold is not a suspect in the investigation and has been cooperating fully.

At Etzold’s suggestion, Erlewine said, investigators have looked into fires at several other pesticide and fertilizer companies across the state in the last year, including the spectacular blaze that broke out at the Wilbur-Ellis Co. in Thermal five days after the Fricker fire was started.

“He (Etzold) implied there was some conspiracy. But we have looked at those other incidents and there was nothing to indicate there are any similarities,” Erlewine said Friday.

Etzold, who had no insurance on the property or contents, could not be reached for comment Friday. However, his wife and 29-year-old son, Eric, said they were relieved and happy that the company has been cleared of blame.

‘Knew We Were Innocent’

“We knew we were innocent from day one,” Eric Etzold said Friday outside the fire-scarred, cinder-block building.

“I feel vindicated and I feel like saying, ‘I told you so,’ ” said Mary Etzold, wiping her brow with a dusty arm after a day of trying to salvage stock damaged by fire and water.

Eric Etzold said he only recently learned of threats made against his father and declined to discuss details. “It was basically that this person making the threats said, ‘If you don’t do this, I’ll burn your place or do something to hurt you,’ ” he said his father told him. “My mom said the threats have been (going on) for six or seven years.”

Mary Etzold declined to identify the person who she claimed had made the threats against Etzold, from whom she has been separated for many years. “This has been going on for several years. The threat was, ‘I’m going to burn your business down,’ or somehow do harm to him,” she said. “It was a personal matter.”

Both mother and son said they were pleased at discovering that vital account records survived the blaze intact in a fireproof metal cabinet. Most of the company’s other records were destroyed, along with a $55,000 computer, Mary Etzold said.

County and state agricultural inspectors were continuing to inventory the remaining stock Friday. They said it appeared that as much as half of the remaining pesticides and chemicals could be salvaged and roughly 75% of the remaining fertilizers could be used.

Eric Etzold said the city building inspector issued a 30-day temporary permit to occupy the building for storage and inventory purposes. His mother said no decision has been made on whether to relocate or repair the fire damage.

OCTD Workers Tested

A few blocks from the Fricker site, the number of Orange County Transit District workers tested for possible contamination increased to 100 Friday afternoon, district spokeswoman Joanne Curran said.

Employees, mostly bus drivers, were tested after six of the workers were treated at medical facilities a few days after the fire broke out, Curran said. Results of the tests were not yet available.

An operations supervisor was hospitalized the day after the fire started, complaining of a tightness in the chest, among other ailments. The other five workers complained of dizziness, stomach aches and a burning of the throat and eyes sometime later, Curran said.