Strong Blast Destroys New Long Beach Apartments

A powerful explosion destroyed a new, but unoccupied, apartment building in Long Beach early Thursday, blowing windows to slivers of glass and knocking doors off hinges in adjacent buildings, where sleeping residents were jarred awake by what some thought was an earthquake.

The 4 a.m. explosion, caused by a gas leak and labeled as suspicious by the Long Beach Fire Department, was the latest in a rash of fires in the 1000 block of Raymond Avenue, a street residents described as being under siege.

“This neighborhood is turning into a battle zone,” Michael Luteman, 37, said Thursday, pointing to the patio of his apartment complex, which was cluttered with debris and a chunk of wall from the explosion next door at 1069 Raymond.

Fumes from leaking gas in two apartment units apparently were ignited by a pilot light in the newly completed complex, causing the explosion, fire investigator Doug McClure said.

Fire spokesman Robert A. Caldon estimated damage to the building, which had its inside walls and part of the outside wall blown off, at about $500,000. There was no fire after the explosion, he said.

‘Labeling It Suspicious’

McClure said the blast did not appear to be linked to recent fires in the area that have been labeled as arson cases.

But because two apartment complexes under construction directly across the street, and another half a block away, were set ablaze in the last few months, the Fire Department contacted the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Caldon said.

“Because of the problems we’ve had on this block, we’re labeling it suspicious,” Caldon said.

Officials evacuated about 25 people from two adjacent apartment buildings for two hours after the explosion, Caldon said.

Maria Bellard, 26, said she “thought it was an earthquake” when her window cracked and broken glass slashed her arm. Bellard, who received five stitches, was the only resident taken to a hospital, fire officials said.

There was no dollar estimate available for damage to the adjacent buildings.

The building immediately to the south also is new and only three of its eight units are occupied, said manager Charlene Ferry, 30, who added that she no longer feels safe in the neighborhood.

“It just seems funny that there is something going on with all these buildings,” Ferry said.

The seven-unit apartment complex immediately north of the destroyed building is older and suffered greater damage. The force of the explosion pulled wrought-iron railings from cement, ripped bolt-locked doors off their hinges and sent flying glass through windows, hitting unsuspecting victims such as Diola Hall, 22, who suffered a small cut over her eyebrow.