Victorian Home Gutted by Flames : Destruction: Turn-of-the-century residence, once known as the Stanton house, was to be restored and relocated.

The area lost a tie to its 19th-Century roots over the weekend when one of the city’s two two-story Victorian houses was gutted by fire.

The fire, reported at 8:45 p.m. Saturday, caused heavy damage to the vacant, boarded-up house at 233 E. Amerige Ave., near Lemon Street, a Fire Department official said. The home, cited by the city government as a historical site, was slated to be moved and restored in the upcoming months by a private owner, city redevelopment manager Terry Galvin said.

“This is such a shame,” Galvin said Sunday when told of the fire. “We just got approval from the City Council at the last meeting to restore it.”

Galvin said the turn-of-the-century home, once known as the Stanton house, was to be relocated to a lot in east Fullerton. The city has plans with a developer to use the home’s old lot for a 50-unit, low-income housing facility for senior citizens. Galvin said the fire should not affect those plans.

It took 17 firefighters 21 minutes to control the blaze, which a department official said left the building “pretty well gutted.” The cause of the fire was still under investigation Sunday. No one was injured, firefighters said.

Galvin said the home had been broken into often since it was abandoned last year, including once by a homeless man who built fires in the basement for warmth. “Maybe something like that happened again,” he said. “It’s tough to keep people out of places like that.”

“It’s such a shame to lose it,” he said. “I’ve been looking at that house for 18 years. This ruins my weekend.”