5 Families Lose Homes in Fire at Apartments

A two-alarm fire started by an overheated fan gutted two buildings of a Garden Grove apartment complex Friday, leaving five families homeless, officials said.

The complex, at the southwest corner of Westminster Avenue and Erin Road, sustained damage estimated at $300,000, according to Garden Grove Fire Capt. Bill Dumas.

Ernie Rivas, manager of the 144-unit Westminster Chimes Apartments, said there were replacement apartments for three of the eight displaced families.

But some things lost in the fire could not be restored.

“My children’s pictures and their wristbands from birth,” said a sobbing Antoinette Campbell. “They can’t be replaced.”

Campbell, who sat barefoot in a nearby hotel room provided by the Red Cross, said her family salvaged only one trunk of clothes.

“I was so scared, I didn’t even grab any of my important things,” said her husband, Jamar Campbell, 23, adding that he missed his prescription glasses and his child’s Mickey Mouse piggy bank the most.

The family has only $15 in the bank, Antoinette Campbell said. “We only have the clothes on our body. My mother has no shoes.” The Campbells moved to Garden Grove from San Francisco in November with another family that was left homeless by fire.

“We left San Francisco to get a brand new start,” said Deborah Fale, 20, whose family moved with the Campbells to Garden Grove. “Now we have to start all over again from the bottom.”

Jamar Campbell said that he had recently been laid off from his job as a maintenance man.

“Why me?” he asked. “Why my family?”

The fire began when an electric fan overheated in a second-floor bedroom, Dumas said. The flames ignited nearby bamboo mats in the bedroom and spread to towels hanging out a window that looked down onto a courtyard shared with a nearby building.

The flaming towels fell and ignited patio furniture in the courtyard. The flames then advanced to the adjacent building, Dumas said.

While one resident called the Fire Department, others began battling the blaze with water hoses, said Dumas, who added that the Fire Department discourages civilians from fighting fires.

By early afternoon, when five engines and 22 firefighters had the blaze under control, two apartments were destroyed, two were moderately damaged by fire and four had sustained smoke and water damage, Dumas said.

The building was recently remodeled and “brought up to the latest (fire) codes, to my knowledge,” he said.

The American Red Cross estimated that at least 34 people were affected by the blaze. Red Cross volunteers and disaster relief workers were at the scene, making arrangements for temporary housing, clothing and food.

At least five families were expected to need food, clothing and shelter, said Peggy Macauley, a Red Cross volunteer.

Residents of the south Garden Grove apartment complex who witnessed the fire said they were shocked into quick action when they saw smoke billowing from nearby buildings.

“It went sort of boom, and all these old ladies were crying,” said Sal Cega, 15, who lives two buildings from the fire. “I was going to get my Nintendo (video game), but I decided to get the VCR” out of the house.

Jose Chavez, who lives on the other side of the block-long apartment complex, said he could see the fire from near his apartment.

“I saw a bunch of smoke coming up so I came here,” said Jose Chavez, 14, who lives on the opposite side of the complex. “There was fire coming out from the top window.”

No firefighters were injured, said Capt. Dumas, but the hot weather contributed to the exhaustion of those fighting the blaze. Temperatures in some parts of the building climbed to 1,000 degrees, he said.

“I felt like a lobster in a pressure-cooker,” said Garden Grove firefighter John Green, adding that when cold water is put into a hot room, steam is produced.

The firefighters wore airtight outfits and about 100 pounds of gear.

“You’re in a capsulized coat and pants,” said firefighter Cameron Phillips, 36. “You have absolutely no ventilation. You’re living in your own heat.”