Val Verde Somber After Fire That Killed Brothers

Resting among the ashes in front of the Val Verde home gutted by fire on New Year’s Eve was a bouquet of flowers, a small but powerful reminder of the tragedy that had occurred there days before.

There were no other visible signs of grief Monday in this quiet, dusty town of 2,000 residents northwest of Magic Mountain.

But residents left no doubt, as sheriff’s detectives resumed their investigation and as funeral arrangements were set for two of the victims, that theirs is a community in mourning. The fire, residents say, is the biggest tragedy to afflict their close-knit community in recent memory.

Half-brothers Patrick Crawford, 7, and Sean Williams, 17, died over the weekend, succumbing to severe burns suffered during the blaze.

“Nobody wants to see a kid dying,” said Monowar Zahrad, owner of a convenience store just down the road from where the fire took place.

Zahrad’s nondescript store is the closest thing folks have to a town center.

Conversation among store customers has centered on one thing since the New Year, Zahrad said. “People feel really bad about the whole thing.”

“People are in shock,” said Debbie Hoover, 35, who baby-sits for a family a few doors from the burned-out house. “It’s hard for everyone to sleep.”

Hoover was among the residents who called 911 on the morning of the fire and watched helplessly as those inside tried to escape. The fire broke out about 8:15 in the ground floor of the two-story, four-bedroom home.

Meanwhile, at Live Oak Elementary School in neighboring Castaic, where Patrick attended school, the flag flew at half-staff and students observed a moment of silence in remembrance of their classmate.

“It wasn’t really silent in my room,” said Kerie Stein, Patrick’s second-grade teacher. “There was a lot of crying.”

Patrick’s classmates will present a box of condolence cards to Linda Reese, Patrick’s mother, who was away at work when the fire erupted.

“Dear Mrs. Reese, I am going to miss Pat a lot. He’s still my friend, even though he’s now in heaven,” wrote one.

Another student addressed Patrick posthumously in a journal students were asked to write, sharing their feelings. The spelling and grammar was the stuff of second-graders, but the feelings were sincere:

“I really miss you. I wish you were here rite now. I can’t believe you dead.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arson investigators ruled out electrical problems as the cause of the fire, said sheriff’s Det. Ed Nordskog, and fire accelerants were detected.