Officials still unsure of cause of antique store fire
The cause of a fire that gutted a local antique store last week is still unknown, though some mentioned arson as a possibility Monday.
“The only thing I know is electricity didn’t cause this fire,” said Dr. Mansour Eshraghi, whose son owns a computer shop next door. “Somebody did this.”
After the blaze — which caused more than $1 million in damages — Eshraghi said he climbed onto the roof of his son’s store, where he could view the inside of the charred building. The burning appeared to be evenly distributed, an indication that an electric spark was not the cause of the blaze, he said.
Esharaghi also said he spoke with Marilyn Nelson, one of the owners of the gutted building, who also suspected arson. Nelson could not be reached for comment Monday.
But workers from the emergency response team called out to patch the crumbling building said it is still too early to say what ignited the blaze.
“Sometimes it looks like arson at first,” said a worker at the site Monday. “And two or three weeks down the line, it turns out it was an electrical fire.”
Simply Sofas and Lona Antiques and Furniture — both of which sell custom furniture and collectibles — went up in flames just before 2 a.m. on Thursday. The building, which is located on the 2300 block of Lincoln Boulevard, was completely gutted and all of its contents were reduced to ash.
No one was injured in the blaze. The store’s inventory included thousands of pieces of antiques and collectibles that were as much as 150 years old and from faraway places like China and Thailand.
“It was a great business,” neighbor Nina Fresco said after the blaze. “Everyone loved it.”
Santa Monica officials have deemed the building unsafe to enter, while detectives from the city’s arson task force are interviewing workers in neighboring shop, looking for clues as to how the fire started.
An emergency response team fitted planks over the shop’s blown-out windows Friday and will begin to install bracing for the building’s crumbling roof today, according to contractors at the site.
Officials could not say when they will be able to get back inside the flame-scarred brick building, which still reeks of burned fabric and melted upholstery.
During the fire, crews reported seeing smoke from as far away as Main Street and flames were visible from the front and south sides of the building.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 18, 2003. Read the original PDF.