Small afternoon fire causes church damage

Marisa O’Neil

A small fire that damaged a 19th Street church Wednesday likely was

started by a homeless person trying to stay warm, fire officials

said.

The fire started just after 1 p.m. in the electrical room of a

building at the First United Methodist Church of Costa Mesa, Costa

Mesa Fire Battalion Chief Scott Broussard said. It appeared a

homeless person knocked over a lighted can of burner fuel, igniting

nearby papers, clothes and an electrical panel, he said.

The transient admitted to starting the fire and was waiting for

firefighters when they showed up, Broussard said.

“He was sitting on the front steps, and the smoke was going up

behind him,” Broussard said.

Fire investigators have not yet determined if the fire was set

intentionally or accidentally. The homeless man sustained burns on

his shoe and was taken to Hoag Hospital, Broussard said.

The room where the fire started was kept locked, and it isn’t

clear how the man got in, said the church’s pastor, The Rev. Julie

Elkins. Elkins came to the church from El Segundo five months ago.

The church, in the 400 block of 19th Street between Newport and

Harbor boulevards, used to provide services such as food distribution

and a showering program to homeless people. The church is in the

process of bringing those programs back, Elkins said.

Elkins’ 12-year-old son, Paul Elkins, speculated that the cold

temperatures may have driven one of the transients inside to get out

of the chill.

“It was like 30 degrees out,” he said. “He probably wanted some

heat.

“Now all his stuff is gone,” he added, glancing at the pile of

charred papers and clothing that sat by the burned building.

The fire caused about $15,000 damage to a downstairs meeting room

and burned through to the ceiling, Broussard said. Upstairs offices

of the Mental Health Assn. of Orange County, which shares the

building, were evacuated but didn’t sustain any major damage.

Inspectors will have to decide if the offices are safe to open

again, but utilities to the complex have been shut off, Broussard

said.

“[The fire] took out the electrical panel,” volunteer maintenance

worker Steve Perkins said. “I don’t think we’ll have any electricity

for a while.”

Though the church’s sanctuary was not damaged, the lack of

electricity or water may force Elkins to come up with some creative

worship for the church’s busy season.

“If they’re not on, we’ll do something unique,” she said of the

utilities. “Somehow we’ll have a service.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at [email protected].