Business Owners Help Raise Money to Aid Fire Victims

Business owners in the downtown area are raising money for a fellow merchant and his family who were burned out of their home Dec. 14.

Charles Morgan and his wife, Annie, are staying in a neighbor’s camper with their 3-year-old son until friends raise enough money to get the family, including two older children, into another rental home. The older children are staying with relatives in Costa Mesa and Irvine until the family can be reunited.

Annie Morgan, who owns Sir Rogers Deli on East 17th Street with her husband, said she is still trying to get over the loss of personal belongings in the fire. The family had rented the house but carried no renter’s insurance.

“I need to get past the upset, having to do it all over again,” she said. “When it’s all gone, then you stand there and think, ‘My gosh, I’ve got to start all over and it took us so long to build.’ ”

The fire, which started in the early morning hours in the family’s Christmas tree, destroyed about $150,000 worth of the family’s belongings, Morgan said. Because they own a business, she said, they immediately had to return to work before taking care of finding a new home or dealing with their loss.

“Being a business owner sometimes can tend to make people think you’re in a better financial position than you really are,” she said, “but it’s a rough road all the way around. It’s busy, but not as busy as it could be, and that’s the unfortunate side of it. You hope your business will carry you through something like this, but basically it’s just carrying itself.”

Fred Jansson, a member of the Costa Mesa Downtown Merchants Assn., said the effort to help the family has raised about $2,000 so far.

“The response has been pretty good,” Jansson said. “Obviously it could be better, but I think all charities and funds have been suffering this year.”

Family and friends have come to the family’s aid, offering their homes for the entire family to stay together the past few days and helping them piece their lives back together. Morgan cooked Christmas dinner for the neighbors who have put them up since the fire.

“I don’t know how else to show how grateful I am. They’ve opened their home so we could be together on Christmas Day,” she said.

Jansson said merchants are searching for an attorney who could help out with insurance questions. They are also hoping to get the Morgans a waiver on a security deposit to rent a house and money to “help get them back on their feet.”

The merchants association has set up a fund for the family at Wells Fargo Bank. Donations may be sent to the Morgan Family Fund, Wells Fargo Bank, 301 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92627.