‘We are proceeding very quickly.’ City moves on apartment complex after massive fire

Modesto is working to demolish the boarded-up downtown apartment building it condemned in June after it sustained substantial damage in a Monday night fire.

The two-story building at 624 Ninth St. consists of 27 studio apartments that rented for $575 to $585 a month, including utilities. And despite its wretched condition — which included mold, rats and cockroaches, rotting bathroom floors, holes in walls and floors, and faulty plumbing and electrical — it provided affordable housing for people on the margins during a time when rents are spiking in the region.

City Attorney Adam Lindgren said Tuesday afternoon that the city’s building official and fire officials had inspected the property and determined it needs to be demolished. Lindgren said Modesto is reviewing its options to carry that out. For instance, the city could go to court to seek what is called an abatement warrant. He could not provide a timeline but said, “we are proceeding very quickly.”

Lindgren said Modesto would seek to recover its costs to demolish the property from the building’s owners or their insurance.

The fire was reported about 8 p.m. The fire collapsed the roof and heavily damaged probably eight second-floor apartments, Modesto Fire Department Division Chief Michael Lillie said.

He said the building did not have electrical and gas service. The fire’s cause is under investigation, but Lillie said it appears the fire started in the rear of the building, though he could not say whether it was on the first or second floor.

Witnesses told firefighters that people were in the building when the fire started. Employees who work at neighboring businesses said Tuesday that people have been breaking into the building since the city had the remaining tenants move out and the city boarded up the building Sept. 1.

Lillie said on numerous occasions firefighters have found people in the building as firefighters conducted safety checks at the property. He said firefighters call the police and board up the property again.

Lillie said he believes everyone got out of the building Monday night. He said firefighters were able to search about 80 percent of the building, and no one has come forward and reported anyone as missing. He said as the first firefighters arrived someone was leaving the building and said no one else was inside.

California Rural Legal Assistance is suing the building’s owners and seeking financial damages on behalf of seven former tenants. “We are concerned about the circumstances of the fire,” CRLA staff attorney Aurora Thome said, adding CRLA hopes investigators are able to identify a cause.

The building is owned by Turlock residents Steve and Noma Arakelian. Steve Arakelian declined to comment Tuesday, but he has said he did not have the money to repair the building and blamed the building’s problems on tenants who damaged and vandalized the building faster than he could repair it. But tenants have said Arakelian failed to make repairs or made inadequate repairs.

Several dozen people — including about a dozen children — lived in the building before it was condemned. Modesto worked with Stanislaus County and social service agencies to find homes for the tenants. Officials have said they were able to place many in permanent housing but some ended up in emergency shelters. Modesto provided financial assistance for the tenants.

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 4:37 PM with the headline "‘We are proceeding very quickly.’ City moves on apartment complex after massive fire."