Victims of townhome blazes remember

Lolita Harper

Tragedy introduced them, and a debt of gratitude reunited them on

Saturday.

Residents from the Monticello Town Homes observed the one-year

anniversary of a bizarre rash of fires Saturday by thanking Costa

Mesa firefighters for their quick response and continued support

after a fatal explosion and a random electrical fire just days later

in the same complex.

The unrelated and tragic events of last year scarred the small

community off Fairview Road, but also brought neighbors and city

officials closer together.

Fire Chief Jim Ellis was on hand to accept a beautiful plaque from

the residents and said he was touched by their display.

“This is very nice. They did an awesome job,” Ellis said about the

plaque that displayed two large pictures of the fires, as well as an

inscription of appreciation to the fire department. “It is not very

awesome that people come back and say thank you.”

After a brief presentation, Monticello residents and firefighters

milled outside of Fire Station 5 on Vanguard and relived the night

that started it all.

It was 3 a.m. on Feb. 28, 2002, when a large explosion, and then a

series of smaller ones, rocked neighbors out of their beds. Fire

raced through the garage of one townhome and quickly spread to the

rooftops of others.

Robert Jamison Marshall died in the fire.

Julie Cross, president of Monticello Homeowners Assn., retold the

story of how she was awoken in the middle of the night by a large

boom and, for a brief and groggy minute, thought someone was pounding

at her door.

She quickly learned that her community was on fire and ran over to

offer help to her neighbors.

Less than 48 hours later, the home of Julie May was set ablaze as

the result of too many appliances being hooked into one outlet.

Again, the residents of Monticello came together to support another

neighbor through a disaster.

Investigators concluded that the Feb. 28 explosion was set off

when paint fumes were ignited by an unknown source, they say. They

believe Marshall stored several cans of paint and fuel throughout his

house. His collection fueled the fire that broke out in the garage

and burned through house, completely ravishing his unit and seriously

damaging a handful of others.

A year later, the memories are still fresh, and the emotional

wounds still raw, but May and Cross said they are moving on. The slow

wheels of rebuilding and insurance are starting to turn, and the

residents look forward to one day taking down the remaining boards

that bandage the damages of the fire.

“It’s a long, frustrating process that we are going through, but

we’re getting there,” Cross said.