Christian Book Shop Burned in Incendiary Fire

Christian bookseller Max E. Moolick calls himself “the man everybody loves,” so he and county fire officials said they had no idea why someone would break into his store early Thursday, spray a flammable liquid over his wares and set the shop ablaze.

County fire officials appealed to the public for information about the 2:40 a.m. arson at the Stanton Bible House.

The fire was brought under control in 17 minutes by 35 county and Anaheim firefighters. But the blaze caused an estimated $50,000 damage to Moolick’s Cerritos Avenue shop and $100,000 damage to its contents--Christian books, evangelical greeting cards, Christian cassette tapes and thousands of Bibles.

The fire was so hot that it melted his shop’s aluminum front door, cracked front windows and melted or cracked glass bookshelves, said Moolick, who declared his 41-year-old business a total loss.

“I haven’t the slightest idea why somebody would do something like this,” the 69-year-old merchant said Thursday night. “Everybody loves me. At least I thought they did. Maybe they don’t love my books.”

County firefighters are asking that witnesses who might have noticed activity near Moolick’s store when the fire began--or noticed a nearby dumpster fire 20 minutes earlier at Cerritos and Knott avenues--call them immediately at (714) 744-0505.

By all accounts, Moolick is “a good guy, with no known enemies--and suddenly someone just lights his store on fire,” said County Fire Capt. Dan Young. “We’re looking for answers.” Young said fire and Sheriff’s Department investigators know of no motive for the fire but after a rash of hate crimes around the county, they were wondering if “anti-Christian” sentiment might have provoked this.

Moolick didn’t know. Asked if he would sell Bibles again, the broken-hearted bookseller replied softly, “Probably. That’s my life.”