Welfare Office Shut Down Because of Arson Damage : Services: The fire in Panorama City affects 91,500 people. A recipient who fled after breaking a glass partition on Monday is a suspect.

An arson fire heavily damaged Los Angeles County’s busiest welfare office Tuesday, destroying computers and case files, melting telephones and forcing 91,500 people to turn to other facilities for aid.

The fire, which caused $110,000 in damage and shut down the Panorama City office indefinitely, erupted 14 hours after an irate welfare recipient who had not received food stamps on time smashed a glass partition and fled.

The incident heightened concern about safety at the county’s 30 welfare offices, where more than 1,000 assaults, robberies and other crimes occurred last year. Arson investigators were looking into the possibility that the blaze was set by the welfare recipient who shattered the glass partition about 1:30 p.m. Monday during an interview with a social worker, said Chief Leslie Hawkes of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The man, whom authorities declined to identify, fled from the office with a bloody fist, leaving his wife and child behind.

An arsonist broke a glass door about 4:30 a.m. to get into the two-story building, said Sgt. Nick Scinocca with the county’s Office of Security Management. The intruder’s presence was detected moments later by one of dozens of infrared motion sensors spread throughout the structure, he said.

But the arsonist had time to climb the stairs and splash gasoline over desks and computer terminals in the east wing of the building on Lanark Street before authorities arrived, Scinocca said.

“These kinds of things are almost impossible to prevent,” Scinocca said. “Alarms may deter the opportunist or slow down some people, but there are those who are so determined they’ll take the chance.”

The fire comes after the county increased security at welfare offices in the wake of the 1989 fatal stabbing of mental health worker Robbyn Pannitch at her office. The Panorama City office was fortified late last year with metal detectors, panic buttons, guards and interview booths divided by thick, wire-reinforced glass.

“We could add security guards 24 hours a day, but where do we stop?” said Lt. Patrick Soll, head of the county’s Office of Security. “When do we get back to some sort of normalcy?”

The fire upset social workers and recipients alike.

“Why? Why? We’re here to help people,” said Bryce Yokomizo, director of the Panorama City office, after he inspected the damage. “This only makes serving the public that much more difficult.”

“After 15 years working here, it’s like your own house burning up,” said Donna Roseman, a county eligibility worker.

“Why did they have to mess it up for everyone else?” said Maria Gomez, 26, a Sun Valley resident who came to the office Tuesday because she did not receive her $357 check.

Some social workers said the fire heightened their fears about being attacked by angry clients.

“We never know if we’re going to return alive after an interview,” one worker said.

The Panorama City office might not reopen for some time, county officials said. The heat was so intense inside the building that paint peeled off the walls in patches. Walls were streaked with gray from the smoke, and plants withered even in areas where the fire did not spread.

Asbestos in the ceiling tile might have to be removed, and there is extensive smoke and water damage, county officials said.

Yokomizo sent most of his 350 employees to the welfare office in Canoga Park. A handful of social workers remained outside the Panorama City office and referred clients there.

“I’m going to try to make it over there,” said Anita Majors, 24, a Panorama City resident with three children who needed food stamps and housing assistance. “But I don’t know what bus to take.”