06:58 PM CST on Sunday, February 19, 2006

By TJ Aulds / Galveston County Daily News

A little girl playing with a lighter is likely what started a Sunday morning apartment fire that left more than 20 people homeless. While only three units of the Texas City apartment complex were damaged in the blaze, the remaining residents were forced to vacate when the electricity to the complex was ordered cut off.

GCDN

Texas City firefighters talk to residents after a fire at the Rancho Santa Maria apartments on Texas Avenue early Sunday.

Firefighters were called to the Rancho Santa Maria apartments in the 1600 block of Texas Avenue about 7:45 a.m. Sunday.

Texas City Fire Marshal Kelly Rothrock said the initial investigation indicated a 5-year-old girl was playing with a cigarette lighter on a couch in the apartment living room where the blaze began. The child’s parents were asleep at the time the fire broke out said Rothrock.

“The girl went in to get her mom and dad and the father tried to put the fire out, but was unsuccessful,” said Rothrock. The father suffered burns to his hands attempting to snuff out the blaze and was transported to UTMB said Rothrock.

While Texas City fire crews were able to isolate the blaze to the initial unit, two nearby units suffered smoke and water damage said Capt. David Teverbaugh. The power was also shut off to the entire complex.

That sent between 20 to 30 residents into the cold, most scrambling to find someplace else to live. The local chapter of the Red Cross was on scene to help accommodate those displaced by the fire.

“I’m not sure where I am going to live now,” said Travis Ray as he huddled near the wall of the complex with a garbage bag of the belongings he was able to grab out of his apartment.

Nearby Rodney Mull wrapped himself in a blanket and was waiting for help from the Red Cross. Like Ray he said he did not have any family he could call on for a place to live.

Mari Martinez of the Red Cross said it was likely those residents without someplace else to stay would be temporarily houses in local motels. Most of the displaced residents though were finding other accommodations.

But some residents weren’t planning on going any further than the parking lot.

Donald Bills and his wife Victoria Rutherford along with their dog Whiptail were planning to spend the night in their car. Bills said he wanted to stay close to prevent anyone from breaking into his apartment and taking his belongings.

Complex owner Pedro Aguiar said he was working on hiring security for the complex. He was unsure when repairs could be made and residents allowed to move back in.

It won’t come before a thorough inspection of the complex though said George Fuller, who heads the community services office for the city of Texas City.

“He’ll have to bring everything back up to code before we let the power be restored,” said Fuller.

The El Rancho, said Fuller, has been a target of the city’s nuisance abatement program. The complex owner is also under investigation for not providing heat for each of the units.

“The law says he has to make heat available, and if he didn’t then we will be issuing plenty of citations,” said Fuller. Fuller said he had reports that some residents were using their stoves to heat their units.

Aguilar said he does provide space heaters for each unit and that he is in compliance.

But displaced residents The Daily News spoke with disputed the complex owner’s claims. They confirmed they had to either purchased their own heating systems for use their stoves to warm their apartments.

Daily News Chief Photographer Kevin Bartram contributed to this report.