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	Vol.7, No 45, November 16, 1999
	Fire damages home near CSULB By Ana Tintocalis Daily Forty-Niner Red flames illuminated the night sky as a fire ripped through a Bixby Hill Manor home near Cal State Long Beach Monday. Homeowner Paul Benes, 77; his girlfriend Janette Sullivan, 60; and Benes' caretaker Larry Conciello, 33, evacuated the one-story structure at 880 Palo Verde St. after 5:30 p.m. when they smelled smoke coming from the attic, said Robert Caldon, Long Beach Fire Department's public information officer. "I heard noises above me but I thought it was a rat running around or something," said Conciello, who was in the living room when the fire broke out. Sullivan said she went outside to inspect the house and noticed smoke was coming from the roof. She and Conciello managed to escort Benes, who has Parkinson's disease and is confined to a wheelchair, out to safety. He had been living at the residence for 25 years. Neighbor Rebecca Omel was the first to see the blaze and helped Sullivan, Benes and Conciello get away from the structure. "I drove past the house and I saw smoke coming from the roof," Omel said. "I ran to the front door and said 'Your attic is on fire, call 9-1-1 and get out of here.'" More than 20 Long Beach firefighters arrived on the scene soon after Sullivan's call. They climbed the roof and swiftly attacked the fire with water. "It was a shingle roof, so it's hard to put out the flames in some areas," Caldon said. "[These fires] are much more stubborn." Long Beach police blocked the entrance to the Bixby Hill Manor estates. The blaze was under control by 6:10 p.m. Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, Caldon said the blaze started in the attic and may have been electrical. "There have been reports that a fluorescent light was permanently on [in the house] for several months," Caldon said. The loss of the structure was initially estimated at $50,000. Despite a few frayed nerves, no injuries were reported. Many neighbors and other Bixby Hill Manor residents emerged from their homes to see the fire. With concerned faces, they each tried to piece together what happened as helicopters hovered above them and flashing red lights bounced off the streets and houses. "My dog alerted me first to what was happening," said Gloria Van Moorleghem, a neighbor who lives across the street from Benes. "I then went outside and saw the whole sky red." Benes, Conciello and Sullivan sought shelter at Van Moorleghem's home until their families were contacted. Other residents, like Myrna Simon, were shocked at how intense the fire raged. "When I came up the hill, the thing was ablaze," Simon said. "It was just totally ablaze." "That's pretty scary," said 17-year-old Christina Russell, a Bixby Hill Manor resident. "Nothing like that ever happens around here. [The firefighters'] response was quick otherwise it could have spread to the other house."		Fire damages home near CSULB   2 rookies take L.B. race   Campus concert makes no money Cheap shots belittle news   Special events close parking   Thefts too much for cops The Beach loses grip of first   LBSU can't overcome USC   49ers lose in double overtime Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.