Southeast/ Long Beach : Extension Cord Blamed in Fatal Fire

Sparks from an overloaded extension cord ignited the Hawaiian Gardens house fire that killed five children and their grandmother last week, Los Angeles County Fire Department investigators said Tuesday.

Surviving family members told fire officials that they saw electrical arcs jump from the cord’s multiple connections as recently as the day before the early morning blaze, fire Inspector Greg Cleveland said. The discovery ends speculation that the fire had been caused by faulty electrical Christmas decorations, he said. Investigators have not determined if the house contained a smoke detector, Cleveland said.

A funeral Mass has been scheduled for the victims today at 10:30 a.m. at St. Peter Chanel Church, 12001 214th St., Hawaiian Gardens. Burial will follow in Long Beach at All Souls Cemetery, where the Los Angeles Archdiocese has donated plots next to that of Henry Gonzalez, the father of one of the fire victims who died of a heart attack at age 46 exactly one year ago.

The fire was one of the most deadly in the history of Los Angeles County. The children--Tiana Cruz, 13, Anthony Cruz, 6, Lydia Cruz, 3, Terina Gollette, 11, and Angel Gonzalez, an infant--were being tended by their grandmother Josephina Gonzalez, 69, when it broke out.