Fire guts rooms in UCI apartment A...

Fire guts rooms

in UCI apartment

A two-alarm fire Thursday afternoon gutted an upstairs bedroom and

bathroom in a UC Irvine campus apartment.

The fire started at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday in an apartment at

6297 Adobe Circle, said Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Steve

Miller. About 40 firefighters brought the blaze under control within

20 minutes, he said.

Nobody was home in the unit at the time, and there were no

injuries, Miller said.

The two-story units provide family housing for married students at

the university, UCI spokesman Jim Cohen said. He did not know how

many students would be displaced but said other campus accommodations

would be made available.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Gun manufacturer’s attorneys precluded

A United States Bankruptcy Court this week disqualified attorneys

for a Costa Mesa-based gun maker that declared bankruptcy last year.

The company, formerly known as Bryco Arms, recently reopened under

the name Jimenez Arms, after former employee Paul Jimenez purchased

the company for $510,000. His rival was 17-year-old Brandon Maxfield,

who was paralyzed in an accidental shooting involving one of Bryco’s

.38-caliber handguns.

Brandon was awarded $50.9 million in compensatory damages last

year after attorneys argued that the gun was defective, and the

company was liable for his shooting. The boy had planned to purchase

the company and destroy its guns, according to his attorney.