Hundreds Beat Deadline, File for Damages in Toxic Fire

Complaining of lost work, respiratory infections and burdensome hotel, food and medical bills, residents and businesses had filed about 365 claims against four cities by the deadline Monday, following the toxic fire at Larry Fricker Co. in Anaheim.

The first to file claims against the cities of Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach and Placentia was Kathleen Maldonado, an Anaheim resident and member of Citizens Against Toxic Substances, organized following the June 22 fire that forced the evacuation of about 7,500 people.

Huntington Beach was not one of the cities in which people were evacuated but became the target of about 105 claims because its hazardous materials team was one of the first on the scene trying to douse the fire, Maldonado said.

“We don’t know who is responsible for this mishap and we want to cover all the bases,” said Maldonado, also office manager of the Santa Ana-based Gray and Prouty law firm, which represents Citizens Against Toxic Substances.

Suits Filed Monday

Meanwhile, Howard E. Hirsch, an attorney with Melvin Belli’s Beverly Hills office, said his firm has filed about a dozen lawsuits in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana against Fricker and the City of Anaheim since the fire. The four most recent suits were filed Monday afternoon.

Suits filed in court against cities often are preceded by claims that must be filed within 100 days of an incident. If rejected by city officials, the claimants often file suit.

Tonight, Fullerton City Council members will decide whether to settle or deny the first 14 of about 65 claims filed against their city.

Maldonado, who said she suffered from boils, rashes and a raspy throat following the fire, said she spent five days walking door-to-door last month handing out announcements for a meeting of residents and attorneys from her office. She could not say Mondayhow many of the residents and businesses that filed claims were represented by the law firm.

Employees in city clerks’ offices in Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach and Placentia gave the following details: most of the claims were filed by residents, few by businesses; most did not itemize expenses, although a few included detailed items such as a bottle of aspirin; some families filed one claim for each family member while others filed one claim for the whole family, and the claims probably are duplicated in the four cities, making it difficult to determine how many families and businesses are involved.

Exposed to Chemicals

Roberto Mendoza, an Anaheim resident, said he filed a claim on behalf of himself, his wife and his daughter because he fears the chemicals his family was exposed to may damage them later.

“They haven’t determined yet what the consequences are,” Mendoza said. He now gets two to three headaches a week, he said, but does not know whether to blame it on the Fricker fire.

“To me, the Fricker Co. is not at fault; it’s the city,” Mendoza said. The Anaheim resident questioned, among other things, why the city did not know what the warehouse contained and why the company was not insured. “We just don’t want this to repeat itself.”

Mendoza, who first heard about filing claims against cities from last month’s meeting of residents and an attorney, said, “I don’t think (the attorney) did it for a pure commercial interest. They gave us information; the city gave us nothing.”

While Mendoza and most residents did not specify monetary damages, a few individuals and businesses did. Anaheim resident John Putz, for example, asked for $151.95 for cost-of-living expenses while evacuated, according to Audrey Culver, Fullerton deputy city clerk. The Carmona and the Drzanek families, both of Anaheim, each asked for $100,000 while American Reliable Die Co. Inc. claimed $6,449.80 in losses, Culver said.

Interruption of Business

Stuart Goldman, owner of Anaheim-based Direct Buy Interiors, was one of four to file suit Monday. In his suit, he claimed that the fire caused an unnecessary interruption of business. Had the city inspected the Fricker plant more diligently and had various toxic chemicals not been stored there, the fire would not have occurred and he would not have lost business, according to his suit. Goldman is suing for an unspecified amount of general and special damages and loss of earnings.

Covington Technologies Inc. and Certified Business Supply Co., both near the Fricker plant, filed suits identical to Goldman’s. Donnell Wear, a 24-year-old Anaheim woman, also sued Monday. Hirsch said Wear has not been hospitalized but is seeking medical treatment for respiratory ailments that she said are linked to the Fricker fire.

Times staff writer Maria La Ganga contributed to this story.