Fire Routs Shoppers in Tustin

A midmorning blaze swept through a cluster of shops in a bustling Tustin shopping center Thursday, forcing the evacuation of scores of shoppers, snarling freeway traffic and causing an estimated $1.6 million in damage.

The two-alarm fire at the Larwin Square Shopping Center, where crews are expanding a grocery store, was blamed on a worker’s cutting torch that ignited the attic of a beauty supply shop and spread to adjoining businesses.

As thick smoke washed across the center and the Costa Mesa Freeway, about 75 firefighters battled for more than 40 minutes before extinguishing the blaze. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.

“Believe it or not, people still wanted to come in and shop,” said Laverne Allenbach, a clerk at nearby Tustin Stationers.

The fire began in the attic of the beauty supply store and spread next door to Draper’s & Damon’s Ladies Fashions, an empty storefront and Larwin Square Dry Cleaners, said Capt. Paul Hunter of the Orange County Fire Authority. The beauty supply store was destroyed and the other businesses badly damaged. The grocery store remained closed for hours after it was evacuated due to the lingering smoke.

Hunter said when fire crews arrived, they could see and hear air-conditioning and heating units crashing through the ceiling and chunks of the ceiling clattering to the ground. “It was spreading rapidly,” Hunter said.

“The whole outside was covered with smoke,” said Allenbach, who recalled hearing the popping sounds as cans of hair spray exploded inside the beauty supply shop. “I’ve never been this close to anything like this.’

Shop owner Chang Chung, whose dry cleaning business was heavily damaged, said he had relocated his business to its current location only three weeks ago, after 18 years in another part of the center.

After the fire was extinguished, Chung--who said he cleans and presses the uniforms of local police officers--stood on the steps outside his damaged business and took stock of matters as his wife and pregnant daughter clung nearby. He said he plans to rebuild.

“Life is like this,” he said. “You never know.”