Residents of Fire-Ravaged Apartments Take Stock

While digging through the debris of her fire-gutted apartment Tuesday, Melody Johnson stopped to take a leaflet advertising move-in specials at a complex just down the street.

Nearby, one of her neighbors had spread his water-damaged furniture on a front lawn to dry. And in front of the apartment complex where 19 units were destroyed Monday, Tony Kim was busy stuffing what was left of his life into a minivan. When he was through, his family’s belongings didn’t fill even half the vehicle.

“The people who did this will never know what was lost,” said Denise Lierl, 34, a friend of Johnson who was cleaning soot off charred shoes, clothes and knickknacks.

Fire investigators suspect that bottle rockets--which are illegal in California--sparked the fire, which caused about $1 million in damage and displaced 39 residents. No arrests had been made Tuesday.

“Bottle rockets apparently had landed on the back side of the roof,” said Jerry Ustin, Anaheim fire division chief. “Our investigators are in the process of determining who might have done this. . . . They do have an idea of who they are.”

Minutes before the blaze, witnesses saw two or three airborne bottle rockets from the back of the complex in the 3300 block of West Orange Avenue, Fire Investigator Ray McLaughlin said. An employee at Western High School, which is across the street from the apartments, smelled fireworks from the school’s parking lot, McLaughlin said.

“In fact, the smell was so strong that he went searching the parking lot thinking that students had been lighting fireworks,” McLaughlin said.

A similar incident two weeks ago left about 100 people homeless and caused more than $1 million in damage at a Garden Grove apartment complex. Two 16-year-old girls were arrested on suspicion of recklessly starting the fire with a bottle rocket.

Fireworks such as bottle rockets, cherry bombs and firecrackers are banned in California.

Anaheim and the majority of other Orange County cities have made it illegal to possess or light any form of fireworks.

Only a few local cities--including Costa Mesa, Buena Park, Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Stanton--allow state-approved fireworks during specific times of the year, mainly around the Fourth of July, and only for residents of those cities, authorities said.

“Frankly, the ones that kids like best are the ones not allowed,” said Emmy Day, an Orange County Fire Authority spokeswoman who educates students about the hazards of fireworks. “But kids like them, so they buy them elsewhere and bring them back.”

Most fireworks confiscated by fire investigators come from Mexico, but they also can be purchased in Nevada and other states, Day said. In 1995, fireworks caused more than 80 fires in Orange County.

“We are not being spoilsports when we say that fireworks are not allowed,” Day said. “The two [recent] fires, luckily, didn’t kill anyone, but they could have.”

On Tuesday, residents gathered at a church parking lot next to the Anaheim apartment complex to talk about the cause of the fire. Many were angry that someone might have recklessly started the fire. Relatives and friends came by throughout the day to offer help and a few hugs.

Richard Graff drove a pickup truck from San Fernando to help his son, Bob Graff, move furniture. Bob Graff’s apartment suffered mostly water and smoke damage.

“I still can’t believe it,” Bob Graff said. “It still hasn’t sunk in.”

Johnson also was shocked when she walked into her apartment and saw that everything was “just black.” But to her surprise, Johnson said, eight photo albums survived.

“I’ve no idea how those albums made it out,” she said. “They’re a comfort.”