Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : CITIES : 90 Families Left Homeless After Anaheim Fire

Tibor Fernbach remembers the boom and the eerie glow.

When Fernbach, 65, opened his apartment door, he faced a 25- to 30-foot wall of fire. The fire, reportedly started by illegal fireworks, erupted in a 156-unit Anaheim apartment complex Thursday, leaving about 90 families homeless and causing $2.2 million in damage.

A tenant and a firefighter suffered minor injuries, but no one was seriously injured. Fire officials said fireworks ignited the wood shingle roof at 2633 E. La Palma Ave.

Some residents lost everything.

“My apartment’s been completely destroyed, gutted,” said Mary Gerry, who had no insurance. “I’d only been there three months, and I had brand-new everything.”

Many of the families found shelter at an American Red Cross emergency evacuation center at Sunkist Elementary School nearby. And on Saturday, the Red Cross was helping families find new apartments and get refunds for their deposits and July rents. Five local hotels also offered temporary housing.

Tenants said a number of young men were seen playing with fireworks outside the building between 2 and 3 a.m. Thursday, just before the fire. The Anaheim Fire Department is investigating.

Assistant Fire Chief Ron Evans said the first firefighters on the scene were hampered by a faulty fire hydrant. A valve inside had broken off, he said, causing what he said was a three- to five-minute delay.