Blaze Engulfs Temple After Monk’s Robe Catches Fire

A small Buddhist temple in Garden Grove was ravaged by fire Saturday night after a monk’s robe caught fire while he was boiling water in the kitchen.

The monk escaped uninjured, but the blaze spread through the temple when he ran into an office area and ripped off the burning garment, said Battalion Chief Dave Bertka.

“He didn’t have a scratch on him,” Bertka said. “But by the time we got there, one room was fully involved and the fire had already burned its way through the roof.”

Two other monks were also inside the temple, a converted single-family house on the 12000 block of 9th Street, but they were not injured.

The blaze broke out just before 7 p.m., and took 19 firefighters nearly 70 minutes to extinguish. The fire destroyed the temple’s office and attic, and caused an estimated $60,000 in damage to the structure and its contents, Bertka said.

A flame from a gas range ignited the monk’s robe, Bertka said.