Community Center Burns in Lincoln Heights

The burning question asked Tuesday in Lincoln Heights was a troubling one: Was the fire that gutted a partially built neighborhood center arson? Or was it an accident?

Even construction workers converting a 70-year-old Eastlake Avenue house into a community services site were hoping that an electrical short was to blame, not gang members.

Gangs are a worry in the neighborhood--site of the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy by police last July that sparked two nights of violence. The incident helped prompt Los Angeles officials to purchase the empty house so it could be turned into a combination children’s center, housing assistance office and police drop-in substation.

But workers had to kick gang members out of the dilapidated, two-story building before they could start renovations. And two weeks ago, they were forced to duck inside the house for cover when shots were exchanged between about half a dozen gang members out front.

It took five companies of Los Angeles firefighters about 20 minutes to put out the 1:30 a.m. blaze. Its cause was still under investigation late Tuesday, according to Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells.

“It’s very strange,” said Efrain Garcia, a machine operator who has lived in the neighborhood for 29 years.

Some people in Lincoln Park were convinced it was set. “I knew they’d burn it. People said it would happen,” said a woman who asked not to be identified.

Some city officials were convinced it wasn’t set, however.

“We think it was an electrical fire that started in the basement,” said Tony Perez, an aide to City Councilman Mike Hernandez. “When I first heard about it, I just held my breath hoping it wasn’t arson.

“It’s a tragedy,” Perez said. “But it would have been a greater tragedy if it had been arson.”

Hernandez pledged that work on the house will continue. “We’ve had some negative luck in this neighborhood. We have to keep on pumping if things are going to change,” the 1st District councilman said.

Workers said it could take two months to repair the estimated $30,000 damage. Builders had been working 15-hour shifts in hopes of finishing in time for a scheduled May 20 opening.

Local and federal officials who allocated money for the $270,000 project probably still will gather that day to dedicate the site, said city Housing Department staff member Matt Callahan.

Project manager Doug Smith indicated that he wouldn’t be disappointed to see something like spontaneous combustion cited as the fire’s official cause.

“On one hand, I don’t want the contractor to have any blame,” said Smith, also of the Housing Department. “On the other, I don’t want the community to have any blame, either.”