Generations of Memories Lost in Fire in Seal Beach

As flames danced along the roof of the house John Kleker built by hand nearly 40 years ago in Surfside before dawn Thursday, the 81-year-old retired plumber thought his heart would burst.

In just 40 minutes, the fire raced through the two-story home in the gated community in Seal Beach where he had raised his son and daughter--and where he had looked forward to spending Christmas Day with his great-grandchildren.

Reduced to rubble was Kleker’s $350,000 house, including 250 photo albums recording the birthdays, weddings and other important days in the lives of four generations of Klekers. The albums had been painstakingly compiled by his wife, Faith, an amateur photographer, until shortly before her death October.

“The photos were the biggest loss, because they contained some wonderful memories of my wife,” Kleker said. “We were married for 57 years, and I hated to see the pictures she had collected go up in smoke.”

‘Everything . . . Gone’

Kleker added: “I lost my wife in October and my house this morning. . . . Everything I cherished is gone. . . . My head’s still not screwed on straight. But my family and neighbors have been so supportive. They have been a great comfort.”

The fire, which caused $550,000 damage to Kleker’s home and four others in the closely packed beach community, was one of three to strike Orange County on Christmas Eve.

Four families were displaced from their homes in Surfside, Placentia and Villa Park, County Fire Department spokeswoman Patti Range said. The fires caused a combined $800,000 in damage, and two firefighters suffered minor injuries while fighting the fire at a house in Villa Park, Range said.

The fires, which were caused by defective fireplaces or heating systems, were whipped by Thursday’s high winds, causing them to spread from the houses to homes nearby, Range said.

The Surfside fire, which began about 1:44 a.m. at the Kleker home at 29B Surfside Ave., rousted Kleker, his 5-year-old great-grandson, Paul Bolotin Jr., and the boy’s father, Paul Bolotin Sr., from their beds and into the cold, dressed only in their pajamas and bathrobes.

A crack where the chimney joined with the roof caused flames to escape, setting the roof afire, Range said. As the fire ignited the roof, it was spotted by two unidentified men driving by on Pacific Coast Highway, Paul Bolotin Sr. said. Bolotin, who was asleep with his son in a first-floor bedroom, said the men climbed the six-foot-high wooden wall surrounding the gated Surfside community, kicked open the front door to Kleker’s house and and began yelling: “Fire! Fire!”

At about the same time, Kleker, who had been asleep in a second-floor bedroom, noticed that his ceiling was on fire and had begun to go downstairs when the two passers-by entered the house.

They all escaped the fire without injury.

The fire spread from Kleker’s house to four nearby homes in the closely packed beach community, causing moderate damage to two of them and minor damage to the others, said Orange County Fire Department spokeswoman Patti Range.

Fifty firefighters from the county and Huntington Beach fire departments battled the blaze for 34 minutes before bringing it under control, Range said. The Kleker home and another one were left uninhabitable.

Bolotin said he was unable to save his little boy’s Christmas presents. Bolotin, along with his son and wife, Jennifer, who is Kleker’s granddaughter, is visiting for the holidays from Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County.

The Bolotins are being put up at a motel by the Red Cross. Bolotin, 37, a machinist, said he is unsure whether Santa Claus would still be visiting his son.

“I can’t afford to buy any more presents,” he said. As his son listened, Bolotin added: “Santa Claus is trying to get something going with the Red Cross. . . . They’ve been helping us out pretty much.”

In Placentia, a windswept fire caused $211,000 in damage to three houses, Range said. The fire began at about 8:38 a.m., when a defective heating system caused the garage of a home owned by Ron Godshalt at 466 Kiolstad Drive to catch fire.

Godshalt and his 2-year-old son, Ryan, were playing with a model train beneath the family Christmas tree, Placentia Police Officer Dennis Grimm said, when they heard two popping sounds and then saw smoke around the garage.

Godshalt, his wife, Kathy, and son, Ryan, escaped the fire without injury, but the house, with an estimated $205,000 in damage, was left uninhabitable, Range said.

Heavy winds blew sparks onto the roof of a nearby house at 472 Kiolstad Drive, causing $5,000 in damage, Range said. The sparks were also blown onto the roof of a house at 433 Purdy Ave., which is behind the Godshalt house, causing $100 in damage, Range said.

It took 28 firefighters 31 minutes to bring the fires at these three houses under control, Range said.

Several of these firefighters emerged from the Godshalt home carrying Christmas presents that had not burned.

In Villa Park, a fire struck a home at 18472 Robin Way about 8:59 a.m., Range said. The fire, which was caused by a faulty attic heater, caused $75,000 in damage to the house, owned by George Frank. Frank and his daughter escaped unhurt.

It took 28 firefighters 30 minutes to bring the fire under control, Range said.

Two of the firefighters were injured slightly, Range said. One suffered second-degree burns to his neck. A second firefighter suffered a puncture wound in his foot after stepping on a nail. They were treated and released from Chapman General Hospital in Orange, Range said.