Blazes at Four Firms Owned by Viet Immigrants Investigated

Authorities were investigating possible connections between two fires in Los Angeles’ Chinatown and two smaller fires in Garden Grove, all set within 24 hours at firms owned by Vietnamese immigrants, arson investigators said Monday.

One of the Chinatown fires destroyed a shopping center in the 700 block of North Hill Street. Damage to the building and the six businesses it contained, including a textile firm, was estimated at $450,000.

At about the same time, 2 a.m. Monday, an arson fire broke out in another textile firm in the 800 block of North Hill, but firefighters quelled it before the flames could do substantial damage, investigators said.

Both of the Hill Street textile firms are owned by the same brother and sister. Fire officials identified the brother as Quy Nguyen. The shopping center fire apparently originated in the textile firm, said Fire Capt. Gary Seidel of the arson squad.

Meanwhile, Garden Grove police said an 18-inch, cardboard box destined for mailing to Vietnam was found partially burned about midnight Monday in a textile firm in that city. Police said the box appeared to be an arson device and showed similarities to the fires in Chinatown.

Garden Grove Police Lt. John Urbanowski said a fire also started by an incendiary device gutted a business on Sunday at Brookhurst Street and Hazard Avenue. He said first fire was similar to the other incidents.

Seidel said other similarities of the fires included the fact that all the businesses are owned by Vietnamese immigrants who were shipping goods to families in Vietnam.

“We are definitely trying to determine if there was a connection between all of the incidents,” Seidel said.