Local News in Brief : Anaheim : Blaze Destroys Home of Couple, 3 Children

The American Red Cross was providing food and temporary lodging Sunday for an Anaheim family whose home was gutted in a fire that claimed most of their belongings late Saturday, authorities said.

Tom Ruiz, his wife and their three children were all put up in a Fullerton motel Sunday night after the 8:30 p.m. blaze at their home in the 1200 block of North Citron Lane. They spent Saturday night with relatives, Red Cross officials said.

The family was able to salvage only the clothes they were wearing, according to Kennedy Grant, a spokesman for the Orange County chapter of the Red Cross.

Anaheim firefighters, who put out the blaze, were not available for comment Sunday. But Craig Inglis, a next-door neighbor, said the fire started when a washroom light switch exploded.

Inglis said fire swept through the washroom, destroyed the kitchen and inflicted heavy smoke damage throughout the rest of the house. He said another neighbor used a garden hose to help fight the flames until Anaheim firefighters arrived.