Costa Mesa will work to prevent fires

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- Now that the smoke has cleared and police lines have

come off the charred residences in the Monticello Town Homes complex,

residents and city officials will meet this week to discuss rebuilding

and possible prevention.

Costa Mesa Building Code inspector Gary Hook will meet exclusively

with Monticello Town Homes residents and officials from Professional

Community Management -- which manages the property -- to detail repair

plans for the homes that were damaged by two unrelated complex fires in

less than three days.

On Feb. 28, an explosion that left one man dead, gutted his home and

damaged a handful of neighboring residences jolted awake the

colonial-style town home complex. A little more than 48 hours later, the

same concerned neighbors watched as another Monticello home went up in

flames March 2.

Hook will outline current city codes and make sure the property

managers are aware of applicable guidelines while rebuilding.

While Hook will touch on the practical aspect of moving forward, a

larger meeting for the entire city is scheduled for Thursday night to

answer lingering concerns about clutter and flammable materials kept in

neighbors’ garages.

Residents like Bobi Rush, who spoke at the last City Council meeting,

wanted the city to take some preventive action by enforcing fire codes or

educating the public about possible hazards.

Fire officials said Robert Jamison Marshall, the resident killed in

the first fire, kept many workshop items, including cans of gasoline, in

his garage. Because of the extensive damage to the house, fire officials

will never know exactly what caused the fire, but they do know it started

in the garage. An unknown spark ignited gasoline fumes and caused the

explosion, officials reported.

Investigators blamed too many appliances and extension cords plugged

into one outlet as the cause of the second fire.

Mayor Linda Dixon said she was anxious to meet with the community to

educate neighbors on how to respect and keep each other safe. Fire

officials will talk about possible hazardous materials, the storing of

combustible items and remind residents of overall safety measures.

“While the city can’t mandate that everybody clean out their garage,

we can bring it to people’s attention so they can take steps to prevent

another tragedy,” Dixon said.

On Saturday, fire officials also met with residents living in the

complex to discuss the fires and ease their concerns.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .

FYI

WHAT: Town hall meeting regarding fire safety

WHEN: 7:30 to 10 p.m. Thursday WHERE: City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

INFORMATION: (714) 754-5225