Women, Children Escape Blaze at Shelter for Abuse Victims

Already on the run from domestic violence, eight women and six children were recovering Sunday after another escape--this time from a fast-moving blaze that ravaged their group shelter in South-Central Los Angeles.

No one was injured in the accidental fire late Saturday night at the Jenesse Center, which has provided a haven to battered women since 1986. But residents are suffering the emotional pain of being displaced again, said Bernita Walker-Moss, the center’s acting executive director.

“It is quite traumatic for them. It can be devastating,” said Walker-Moss, standing in the charred, muddy and waterlogged hallway of the four-bedroom building Sunday.

Fire authorities said the blaze began when a resident tossed what she thought was an extinguished cigarette into a cardboard packing case that had contained a new television set just donated to the center. The still-lit cigarette set the box aflame.

Shelter officials routinely ask that its location not be revealed for fear that an abusive mate might try to attack the residents or attempt arson. Fire investigators “feel quite comfortable” that the cigarette, and not arson, was the cause, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

The American Red Cross has temporarily housed the women and their children--all under 3 years old--in a Los Angeles area hotel. Shelter officials would not identify any women nor permit reporters to speak with them because of confidentiality concerns.

Walker-Moss said she hopes that the group can be moved from the hotel to another house for at least a few weeks until other arrangements are made.

The blaze began about 11:40 p.m. Saturday and it took 45 firefighters about a half an hour to extinguish it, Humphrey said. The one-story wood and stucco shelter, which had fire insurance, suffered about $100,000 in damage and another $25,000 in equipment was destroyed, he added.

Donations of cash, linens, kitchen equipment, clothing and other household furnishings can be mailed to or dropped off at an off-site referral office of the Jenesse Center for Victims of Domestic Violence, 8803 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, Calif. 90003.

The American Red Cross asks that donations be given to any of its local chapters’ disaster relief funds.