Fast-Moving Fire in Anaheim Guts Complex

A four-alarm fire stoked by strong winds raced through an apartment complex Tuesday, engulfing 24 units and causing at least $1.7 million in damage, fire officials said.

Six firefighters were injured as flames raced from attic to attic at the La Ramada Apartments just off the Riverside Freeway.

Police and firefighters evacuated more than 100 residents as the fire quickly spread through the 97-unit apartment complex at 2950 E. Frontera St. The blaze may have started in an air-conditioning unit on the roof of one apartment building, said Anaheim Fire Capt. William Van Horn.

“It seemed like the whole place went up at once,” said David Luraschi, 28, who lives in a second-floor apartment with his mother. “It just went boom, fast.”

The fire broke out shortly before 5:30 p.m. Flames, fanned by 20-m.p.h. winds, destroyed or damaged at least 24 apartment units, said Anaheim Fire Marshal Gary Wilder. About 60 residents were displaced by the blaze.

A huge, towering plume of black smoke that swirled above the fire swept over the Riverside Freeway and slowed commuting traffic to a crawl.

With hot winds blowing, the first firefighters to arrive immediately called for added help, Van Horn said.

“The second alarm was called at 5:38 p.m., followed by a third alarm called at 5:40, and a fourth at 5:43 p.m.,” Van Horn said.

Robert Healey, 35, said he was talking on the telephone when all of a sudden everything darkened inside his apartment.

“I was on the phone with my mom when I saw what looked like fog blowing in,” he said. “Everything got very dark. Then, somebody came knocking on my door telling me to get out, and that’s just what I did.”

Healey said he ran from his apartment, leaving his shoes behind. A few minutes later, as he stood in his stocking feet, sadly watching flames engulf his apartment, he said: “Everything I got is in there. I’m just glad I got me out.”

Grace Kim, 31, who occupied a bottom-floor apartment, also got out safely. But she was overcome with emotion and sat on a side street with her face buried in her hands, weeping. “I was asleep and I heard this banging on my door,” she said. “I’m not thinking anything of it. But they just kept telling me: ‘Get out! Get out!’ ”

Rebecca Sandoval, 43, was at work at a pharmacy in Santa Ana when her 14-year-old daughter, Melody, telephoned her and told her of the fire.

“I started laughing, I thought it was a joke,” she said. “Then she told me it was for real. I was so scared while I was driving home, I kept thinking I’ve got to find my daughter. When I got here the police wouldn’t let me through the line. I kept saying: ‘I can’t find my daughter. I can’t find my daughter.’ Then, a policeman found me, walked me toward the back of the complex and I found her. It took me 15 to 20 minutes. I was so scared.”

Of the injured firefighters, four were from Anaheim and two were from the Orange County Fire Department. Anaheim Fire Capt. Earl Stokes suffered second-degree burns when he was hit on the neck by falling embers. Stokes and the other firefighters were taken to Anaheim Memorial Hospital, where they were treated for smoke inhalation or heat exhaustion.

The fire burned through a common attic that ran through the roof of the second-floor apartments. The fire continued to burn late into the night. Anaheim Fire Chief Jeff Bowman said that as the attics weakened, air conditioning units came crashing through the ceilings of apartments. So many began falling that, at 8:40 p.m., Bowman ordered all of his firefighters out of the structure.

“We wanted to get the fire out (but) we didn’t want anyone hurt,” Bowman said.

While the firefighters rested on the sidelines, others manned an aerial hose and continued pouring water on hot spots through the night.

“My guys are going to be here all night. It’s like a big campfire: You’ve got to turn it over and turn it over,” Bowman said.

Investigation into the cause of the fire was continuing, Wilder said. He said the roof of the apartment building that caught fire was covered by a combination of wood and fiberglass shingles.

Police said they evacuated about 100 people in the surrounding apartment units. In addition, a police helicopter remained in the air monitoring the fire for fear it would jump to a neighboring apartment complex that has wood-shake roofs.

“If those apartments would have got going, we wouldn’t have had enough people to put it out,” Wilder said.

The Orange County chapter of the American Red Cross immediately set up an emergency shelter for the fire victims at Katella High School at 2200 Wagner Ave. The Red Cross sent crisis-intervention counselors and volunteer nurses to provide assistance to the victims, said Red Cross spokeswoman Judy Iannaccone.

About 52 firefighters from Anaheim, Buena Park, Garden Grove and the Orange County Fire Department battled the blaze.

Times staff writer Eric Young contributed to this report.