GARDEN GROVE : Man’s Body Is Found After House Fire

A Garden Grove man died early Tuesday in a blaze that engulfed a single-family home before firefighters could get to the scene, officials said.

The roof of the home, at 12552 Ocean Breeze Drive, collapsed shortly after firefighters arrived around 12:30 a.m., said Ellen Covey, spokeswoman for the Garden Grove Fire Department. Seven fire trucks and 35 firefighters battled the blaze, which was contained in about 45 minutes. Damage is estimated at $480,000, Covey said.

Paramedic Mark Munley was injured in the blaze and was sent to AMI Medical Center of Garden Grove, where he was treated for second-degree burns.

Police identified the victim as Roy Lee Kelley, 58. He was discovered in a bedroom of the house. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Meanwhile, officials have determined that arson caused an unrelated fire Monday night in a vacant building formerly owned by Kaiser Permanente, a hospital and medical services company.

The one-time medical building at 11900 Gilbert St., now owned by the Garden Grove Redevelopment Agency, sustained $400,000 in damage, Covey said. There were no injuries in that fire, which spread to about one-third of the building.

The building was vacant for about three years, said Armando Morales, real-property agent for the city of Garden Grove. The city purchased the building and land from Kaiser Permanente in 1988 and had planned to lease the facility, he said.