Stores’ Owners Ponder the Future After Their Dreams Go Up in Flames

Less than a year ago, Nicholas Torres had put his life’s savings into a clothing store in Los Angeles’ garment district. But in a few hours Thursday night, his dreams for a business of his own disappeared.

Torres, like many other shop owners in the row of businesses hit by the 9 p.m. fire, had no insurance.

“Everything’s gone,” he said Friday morning.

The night before, he rushed down to his store, Latin’s Fashions, after hearing news of the blaze. The fire was under control by then, but ash, smoke and sopping wet shirts and pants remained.

Fire investigators Friday searched through the charred remains of the eight to 10 shops in the two-story building at Pico Boulevard and Main Street. By afternoon, officials had determined the fire’s cause to be arson, said Bob Collis, a spokesman for the city Fire Department. Officials did not have a monetary estimate of the damage.

One-hundred and twenty firefighters battled the blaze for more than an hour. Flames gutted several units in the building, which included a market and a variety of clothing stores.

No serious injuries were reported, but one firefighter went to the hospital for a broken finger.

On Friday morning, in front of Davi’s Shoes on the first floor, where the fire began, a pile of soot and women’s shoes remained.

“Everything was good,” Torres said. “We were selling good. I don’t know what to do now.”

Torres moved from Mexico, where he was an accountant, about eight years ago. In Los Angeles he worked as a salesman for several garment stores until he saved enough money to buy his own.

With those jobs, he taught himself “the business of clothing,” he said.

In the fire, he not only lost a store, but also a job and salary, he said. He once hoped to buy a house for his wife and three children, who are 11, 5 and 1. On Friday, he was wondering how he was going to feed them.

His story was echoed by other shop owners.

Roberto and Nelly Garcia, who own Garcia’s T-Shirts, also tied up years of savings in their store. The savings became soot and water Thursday, and they too had no insurance.

“We were hoping [the business] was going to grow,” Roberto Garcia said.

With no money, “there is no business,” his wife said. They estimated that they lost $18,000 in the fire.

Roberto Garcia, who moved from Mexico 10 years ago, worked in various Los Angeles warehouses until he saved enough to open his business 1 1/2 years ago.

Some people arrived for work Friday and found themselves without jobs.

“Now I’m unemployed,” said Jackie Gutierrez, 23, who sat at Casa de Pizza and stared at the blackened remains. She had worked for a year at U.S. Angel, a clothing store.

She plans to look for another job, but was told by the owner that she could go back to work for her after the woman starts another business.

Some owners shared that desire to open another store.

“We’re alive,” Torres said. “We have brains and hands. We can start again.”